


A K-Pop Utopia (A Black Kitty Series, Book 2)

by Mbita4



Category: B.A.P, BLACKPINK (Band), EXO (Band), Fantastic Baby - BIGBANG (Music Video), Monsta X (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band), Winner (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Community: kpop-fixmix, Fun, Multi, Music
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-01-03 18:34:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 163,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21184070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mbita4/pseuds/Mbita4
Summary: The Toxins and BigBang are back. And with the likes of WINNER and BlackPink, The Toxins' journey into the k-pop world gets a whole lot fun and a lot more intense as they get to meet other k-pop groups.With BTS, EXO, B.A.P, MONSTA X and Red Velvet, get ready for an endless streak of dance battles, music, fun, sleep overs, a whole lot of drama, petty fights, trouble and romance. But when some circumstances beyond control befall on Sam, Zoey and Christine, they have to reconsider keeping up with Collins' "Golden Rule" (not dating any boy group member in Korea) which gets tougher by the day.Things get even worse for The Toxins as they make plans to go back home and a familiar face comes along making The Toxins' last days in Korea a lot more difficult.





	1. Word To The Readers

Hey, hey! I'm back again with the second instalment of the Black Kitty Series: A K-Pop Utopia. Sorry for the late update with the story. Should have published the first chapter sooner, but I had so much school work to do that I never had the time.

The Toxins and BigBang are back and this time, the whole story is going to get a lot more complicated since I thought of adding other k-pop groups to the mix. Though some groups might be introduced later on in the story.

There will be WINNER, Black Pink, BTS, EXO, B.A.P, MONSTA X and Red Velvet. So that's like, seven groups. Counting The Toxins and BigBang, make it nine. This is going to be a tough book to write by the looks of things. And probably it will be a lot longer than the first. Which is a good thing, right? Well, I hope so. Because trying to fit in the characters will be tough, but I'm up for the challenge. And hopefully all goes well.

If you're new to the Black Kitty Series, welcome! Though I do recommend you get to read book one, Stuck in a K-Pop World: Hitting with a Big Bang, to see the storyline and how it all comes up to book two.

It's all up to you eventually and I hope you enjoy it, though starting this book won't be that much of a bad thing either.

To all the VIPs, ARMYs, EXO-Ls, BABYz, Monbabes, INNERCIRCLE, BLINK and ReVeluv, I hope you will enjoy this story more than I enjoy writing it. Open suggestions and comments will be most welcome.

Now, let's start from where we left off, shall we?

Oh! And a special note to all those who are reading this series for the first time, The Toxins aren't real, they just happen to be the characters of my imagination only. No one else.

Make sure to vote and leave a comment. ♥


	2. Chapter 1: Guess Who Was In Closet

My name is Samantha Glasson. I'm known to almost the entire world with the initials B.K, that is, Black Kitty.

Why Black Kitty if you may ask? Well, that's my stage name (got it under weird circumstances). And I'm guessing for someone like me to have a stage name, I must be some kind of a celebrity. Which I am. Well, let me give you a quick summary.

I'm the lead singer, dancer, songwriter and leader in an American pop dance group called The Toxins which consists of five members. Myself, by childhood best friend, Zoey, my two brothers, Mike, who follows after me and Daniel, the youngest in the group. And last but not the least, my dear cousin, Christine.

In the music industry, life is never easy. But with time, we got where we wanted to be. With all the support we rendered throughout the last three years, we became very successful. We even had our own fashion clothesline named after my stage name which became a huge thing as well.

But that wasn't the best part. In the past few weeks, we got to collaborate with one of the popular boy groups in the k-pop music industry, BigBang.

As usual, when you go to a new place with a culture different from your own, you get to face a lot of challenges. Fitting in wasn't the worst part. When it comes to groups, we usually tend to have a lot of differences and we get into a fit of ups and downs. I had that with BigBang's leader, Kwon Jiyong, also known as G-Dragon.

This time around we're all good and apparently that wasn't the only thing we all had to deal with. Zoey, my best friend (who pretty much gets into trouble), found herself into a little of a mix with a French diamond smuggler and the two groups had to work together to bring him down. Which was dangerous by the way and I had no idea what I was thinking with coming up with that horrendous plan which worked out in the end.

It's been two days since we had the diamond smuggler arrested and right now, I'm in the hotel room, standing on top of Zoey's bed because the weirdest thing had happened to me just a few minutes ago.

The lights went out and surprisingly someone had been hiding in my closet and had jumped out to push me to the floor. I had tried to run out of the room but I was bought back in. And the next thing I know, I'm trying to defend myself with a bed lamp, standing on Zoey's bed and when the lights came back on, I receive the shock of my life and had dropped the lamp to the floor.

"You? What are you doing here?" I asked.

Seunghoon was staring at me with a smile. To be honest, I never expected that HE was the guy who had been hiding in the closet. HIM! A member of a k-pop group called WINNER, under YG Entertainment.

"Did I surprise you?" Seunghoon asked.

"Huh, ya, you did," I said, as I looked at him and then went to look at the floor where the broken lamp lay. "And now the lamp's broken."

"It can be taken of. It's no big deal." Seunghoon shrugged his shoulders.

A knocking came at the door and it was then that I remembered that the others were still at the door after they heard the noise in the room. Seunghoon had locked the door to prevent me from going out and the others from coming in.

"Sam, are you okay?" Zoey called out to me. "I heard something break in there! Answer me if you're still alive!"

"I heard her say something," said Seungri. "I bet she is okay."

"Why isn't she saying anything now?" Mike asked. "Do you think she killed the person who was in there? There is definitely someone with her."

Seunghoon and I stared at the door without saying a word. There was silence at the other side of it and I knew seconds later, this was going to happen:

"Sam! Open the door!" Zoey was banging on the door this time. "If the person in there is dead, then you better open the door right now and we can all sort this out!"

If there was anything Zoey is good at, it's being melodramatic. I rolled my eyes and jumped off the bed, standing beside Seunghoon.

"Zoey takes my brother too seriously sometimes," I whispered to Seunghoon.

"Don't be so dramatic, Zoey," said G-Dragon. "I bet Sam hasn't even killed the person, who ever it is."

"Why isn't she saying anything then?" Zoey asked. "Something in there is definitely wrong."

"Sam, please say something," said Christine.

"Sam, I'm scared," came the voice of my younger brother, Daniel. "Say something. This isn't funny anymore."

I never heard my brother talk to me like that ever since he was five years old. Once there was a time during Halloween when I went out trick or treating with him just a few blocks from home. I decided to hide in the bushes, just to play a little trick on him when he stopped by a house to get candy. When he turned around on the porch, he kind of freaked out, thinking I might have been taken by a boogy man or something. He ended up crying and calling out to me on the street. In the end, I decided to step out of the bushes because he was so scared and his little shouts were attracting attention to those nearby. He was so relieved in that vampire costume of his when I appeared that he hugged me and told me how scared he was. It was then that I promised I would never scare him like that again.

"Sam, are you there?" Daniel called out to me, with that same tone he had had when he was five.

"I'm alright, Daniel," I called out. "Don't you worry."

There were huge sighs of relief at the door and some muttered "thank goodness."

"What's going on in there?" Daesung asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said.

"Can you please open the door?" G-Dragon asked. "We've been worried sick."

I looked at Seunghoon, who looked back at me. How was I going to tell them? If they were to see Seunghoon, I don't know what would happen.

"Are you seriously going to open the door?" Seunghoon asked.

"Do I have a choice?" I asked quietly. "It's going to be difficult for you to get out of here. Which reminds me, why are you even here anyway?"

"I'll tell you if you don't open the door."

"What!" I whispered. "How am I going to tell them about all the noise? They are not dumb to figure out that I am not alone. I'm going to tell them whether you like it or not."

"Are you serious? If Jiyong and the other hyungs (형) find out, I'm dead. Especially with our manager."

"I already know your manager. Trust me, he's just like Collins. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"I sure hope so."

"Hello, Sam? What's taking you so long?" Daesung asked.

"What if the person in there is a criminal and has held Sam for ransom?" Zoey asked.

"Now that's just silly," said Seungri.

"If the person in there is really holding Sam for ransom, I'll blame you for this, Zoey," said G-Dragon.

"What! Why!" Zoey asked.

"Because you always get into trouble. Remember what happened with Jehan?"

"We should call the police."

"There will be no need for that," I said as I went back to looking at the door. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Then what's going on and why aren't you opening the door?" Christine asked.

"I......uh.....," I looked at Seunghoon who was also staring back at me wondering what I was going to say next. "I can't."

"You what?" G-Dragon and Daniel asked at the same time.

"You see, I told you that person in there has Sam," said Zoey.

"I'm not being held for ransom, Zoey," I said. "It's just that......you guys shouldn't get mad, okay?"

There was silence behind the door and they were all probably wondering what I was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Christine asked.

"Look, when I came in the room and the lights went out, there was someone in here."

"And....?" Zoey wanted me to continue.

"And the thing is, I don't know how I'm going to tell you, but..... you wouldn't guess who just came out of the closet."

"Who is it? Santa Clause?" Zoey asked.

"It's a little too early for Christmas, don't you think?" Daesung asked.

"And you still believe in Santa?" Seungri asked Zoey. "I thought I was the childish one."

"Of course I don't believe in Santa!" Zoey snapped. "I'm too old for that. I was being sarcastic."

"Okay, enough beating around the bush, Sam," said G-Dragon. "You've delayed us more than enough. Open the door so we could see who it is ourselves."

"If I open the door, promise you won't get mad," I said as I looked at Seunghoon.

"When do we ever get mad at you, Sam?" said Daesung. "You've our word that we won't get mad. Right, guys?"

The rest behind the door agreed with Daesung. Seunghoon silently sighed in relief and I smiled at him.

"Okay," I took a deep breath and stared at the door. "Here goes."

With two big steps, I reached the door, unlocked it and held the door knob. When I turned it and swung it open, I found the others all staring at me.

"Sam, thank goodness you're okay," said Zoey as she approached me first and cupped both my cheeks. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine as you can see," I said. "Now for the worst part."

I threw the door wide open and in an instant, everyone in front of me gasped. Then Zoey and Christine screamed that I almost held my ears. For a moment, I thought they were going to burst. Zoey's hands fell away from my cheeks and she and Christine quickly ran past me into the room.

"OMG! It's Seunghoon! From WINNER! AAAAHHH!" Zoey screamed again as she hugged Seunghoon.

Christine also joined Zoey with hugging Seunghoon and the two were screaming and jumping in delight. I looked at Seunghoon who was smiling at all the attention he was getting and he didn't seem to mind at all.

"Just like BigBang, I also love WINNER. And you being here is so AWESOME!" said Zoey as she and Christine broke away from him.

"Thanks," said Seunghoon. "I've to say I'm also a fan of The Toxins too."

"Did you hear that!" Christine asked so excitedly at Zoey. "He's also a fan of us!"

The two fan girls giggled like little girls and they were bouncing off the floor so excitedly. I smiled at what I was seeing. Looked like they both took all of this as a lovely surprise. Though I had to keep in mind the others still standing at the door.

I turned around and what I saw were guys filled with so many mixed emotions. My two brothers were looking as surprised as ever, but they didn't seem upset. But as for the three BigBang members, their expressions were totally hard to read.

"Are you all okay?" I asked.

Daniel shook his head. "I'm just trying to take this all in," he said. "This is such a surprise."

"Ya, me too," said Mike.

"Sam is so lucky," said Zoey as I turned around and I saw her with her hand hooked around Seunghoon's arm. "I wish I was the one who was in the room when he jumped out of the closet."

"Zoey, you would freak out and would have hit him on the head with a lamp," said Christine.

"No, I wouldn't." Zoey shook her head.

"Says the person who screamed her lungs out when the lights went out," said Mike.

"Pssh, I hate the dark," said Zoey as she twirled a strand of her hair with her finger. "That's so embarrassing." She looked up at Seunghoon. "Did you really hear me scream like that?"

"Ya, I did," he answered with a grin.

I could see Zoey was blushing and she turned to looked at me. "So embarrassing."

"How did you even get here to our floor anyway?" I asked.

"Ya, and what did you do with the lights?" said Christine.

"I'm just wondering what he's doing here in the first place," came G-Dragon's voice.

There was a change of atmosphere in the room when he spoke and now, everyone turned to look at him.

"You aren't mad, are you?" I asked.

I knew he was. But he was fighting inside not to say anything insulting. He did promise he wasn't going to get mad.

"You're going to be in so much trouble when our managers find out. You aren't supposed to be here," said G-Dragon, his tone cool and calm. Well, I thought otherwise.

"I know, mianhae (미안해)(sorry)," said Seunghoon. "I just wanted to surprise you all, especially Sam."

"Aish, that was some surprise," said Daesung, rolling his eyes.

"You couldn't have pulled this all on your own," said Seungri. "Where are they?"

"Who?" I asked, giving Seungri a questioning look. I wasn't the only one who looked at him that way.

"Seunghoon knows exactly who I'm talking about."

Zoey gasped. "Don't tell me it's who I'm thinking of right now?" she asked.

It was then that I understood what Seungri meant. He was right. Seunghoon couldn't have done all of this alone. And who else wouldn't help him out but his group mates?

"Wait, they are here too?" I asked as I turned to Seunghoon.

"I don't get it," said Mike. "Who else is here?"

"They should be here by now," said Seunghoon. "I wonder what's taking them so long."

"OMG!" said Christine as she bit her index finger. "They are coming?"

"This isn't going to end well," said G-Dragon as he scratched his head.

"I should wait for them in the hall," said Zoey. "I hope I look okay." She quickly ran her hand through her hair.

"You look fine. Let's go," said Christine as she went over to grab Zoey's hand and the two ran out of the room bypassing the others still at the door. Mike and Daniel went to join them.

"You and I are going to talk about this later," I said to Seunghoon. There were so many questions that needed answering, but for now, I was just too anxious.

"And he will have to talk with us too," said G-Dragon as he came in the room and approached us.

I stood in front of him. "You promised you won't get mad," I said.

"For you, Sam, I will keep that promise. I just wonder what will happen if our managers find out."

"I'm also worried too," said Daesung as he also came in the room with Seungri. "They aren't supposed to be here."

"We know," said Seunghoon. "But we just wanted to come here and meet The Toxins. Is that so wrong?"

"Ye (여) (yes)!" the three replied at the same time.

"Eish, guys, take a chill pill, okay?" I suggested. "As much as I know they will get in trouble for being here without Yang Hyun-suk's permission, doesn't mean we could all just have fun."

"You're only saying that because you're a fan girl," said G-Dragon.

"So?" I smiled at G-Dragon and shrugged my shoulders. "I'll admit, I am a fan girl of WINNER. And I love it that they are all here. This is like the best surprise I've had so far, though it was pretty scary." I turned to look at Seunghoon. "So, please don't spoil it with worrying over what our managers will think when they find out. We've already found ourselves in a plentiful lot of trouble this past month, haven't we?"

The three BigBang members looked at me and I for one, gave them the most sincere smile I could ever give. They soon gave in.

"Fine," said G-Dragon as he sighed and stared at the ceiling. "I guess you're right."

"I also give in," said Daesung as he scratched the back of his head. "I just couldn't resist that smile on your face."

"Well, when the queen speaks, we listen," said Seungri as he smiled back at me.

"First of all, no one ever listens to me at times until something bad happens," I pointed out. "And second, I'm no queen, okay? Third, thank you so much, you guys!" I clapped my hands excitedly. "This really means a lot to me and the others too."

"You're so lucky Sam is the one defending you," said G-Dragon as he turned to look at Seunghoon.

"Jiyong, be nice," I warned him playfully. I turned to Seunghoon and stood beside him. "Shall we?" I held up my elbow.

He smiled at me and wrapped his arm around it. "I thought you would never ask."

We made our way out of the room and the Three BigBang members made way for us to pass with shocked looks on their faces. When we were in the hall slowly heading to the other Toxins waiting by the elevator, Seunghoon whispered to me:

"How were you able to convince them like that?"

"Persuasion, I guess," I said with a smirk.

"Looks more like charm to me. Especially with that smile of yours."

"Pssht," I rolled my eyes. "I've no charm, only persuasion. If I wanted, I would have given them the death stare and it would have worked out just fine."

"Anyways, looks like I've you to thank."

"Nah, it's no big deal. Just doing it because I'm a fan."

The three BigBang members came in the hall as soon as Seunghoon and I reached the others. Zoey and Christine were panicking like crazy.

"What's taking them so long?" Zoey asked as she tapped her foot impatiently with her arms folded.

"Are they really going to be here?" Christine asked Seunghoon.

"They will, don't you worry," he answered.

"They better hurry because Zoey looks like she's about to run over something right now," said Mike.

"I'm just anxious," said Zoey as her foot tapped faster than it did before.

"Me too," I said with a grin on my face and I leaned my head on Seunghoon's shoulder. I heard G-Dragon and Daesung clear their throats behind me but I completely ignored them.

The elevator made that "ding" sound and we knew they were finally here. My arm around Seunghoon's dropped and we were all staring at the elevator.

When the elevators doors started to open, I held my breath and my heart skipped a beat. I could tell the other Toxins were also holding their breaths too.

When the doors fully opened, there was a huge ear splitting screams coming from me and rest of The Toxins as well. But we the girls were the loudest.

But we the girls were the loudest


	3. Chapter 2: In The Halls of YG

Meeting WINNER the previous day was one of the most memorable days of my life. We had so fun when they came, though they were just with us for a short while because we had to be pretty cautious with when Collins and Lee were going to come back to the hotel. They weren't supposed to know that WINNER had come to the hotel to visit. Most especially, Collins.

With the little time we had with WINNER, I couldn't help but feel like a fan girl all over again as we all got to know each other.

Seungyoon, the leader and maknae of the group is so cute. For me I really like him or maybe thats just the fan girl in me saying all that. I just felt he was such a fun and nice person to be around with.

Then there is Mino, who almost looks identical to G-Dragon, you could easily mistake the two for father and son. I mocked G-Dragon about it with the others. And Zoey kind of grew attached to Mino. Which to me, wasn't much of a surprise.

As for Jinwoo and Christine, they seem to be hitting it off pretty well like good friends. I for one thought they made a really cute couple. Though I had to keep in mind Collins' golden rule about not dating anyone while we were here in Korea.

As for Seunghoon, I wasn't going to let go of him that easily. He and I had a lot of talking to do concerning how he got in the closet in the first place. I guess he was the one who had secretly been stalking me the whole time.

Before they left, we agreed to meet tomorrow at YG, though the three BigBang members didn't think it was a good idea because of their manager. Even if the two groups were to meet, how were we, The Toxins, going to agree with Collins to let us go to YG? As far as everyone's concerned, we were done with our collabo with BigBang. What else were we going to do at that place?

I already had that part all sorted out. G-Dragon declared that whatever I had planned wasn't going to work this time around. The other Toxins and WINNER had faith that it will. And I was pretty sure it would work because I knew I wouldn't have to break a sweat.

Right now, this very morning, I'm in my purple pyjamas with a matching sleeping robe and fluffy bed slippers, stretching and yawning as I stepped out of my room into the hall. I made my way to the lounge where I found Collins and Lee by the dining table, working. The two had been so busy yesterday and still even today. I didn't get a chance to talk to Lee about WINNER because she came back so tired last night and went early to bed.

"Morning," I said as I approached the dining table.

"Morning," Collins replied first, then Lee. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" he asked.

"I'm tired of sleeping," I said as I drew out a chair and sat on the opposite end of the table from where Collins sat. I needed to look at him straight in the eye as we talk. But as for now, he was looking down at some paper work.

"Well, you can always do something, right?" he suggested.

"Ya, I guess," I replied as I leaned back on my chair and rubbed my eyes. "I was thinking we get back to the old routine."

"What old routine?" Collins asked. He was still not looking at me.

"You know, going for practise every morning. We're done with what we came to do here, so I was thinking it's best we try and keep ourselves busy while we wait to go home. We can't always go shopping and sightseeing everyday. At least we try to do what we're familiar with."

"Mmmm, I guess you're right," said Collins as he looked up at me. "I was wondering what you guys will be doing the whole time now that shooting the music video is done, and you came up with a pretty good idea."

"I did?" I tried not to act surprised through my sleepiness.

"Yep," Collins nodded his head. "I think doing your usual routine to start the day will be perfect. Why don't you wake up the others and head to YG? I don't want all of you to become lazy bums at the end of the day and that won't be good now, will it?"

Wow. This was literally not breaking a sweat. I didn't even have to look at him the entire time and he even agreed for us to start today. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I tried not to act all happy about it as I yawned and slowly stood up from the chair.

"Okay, I'll go wake them up," I said.

I left the lounge at a slow and steady pace. When I turned around the corner, I quickly and quietly ran back to my room with so much excitement and through the door I had left open. I ran in and jumped on Zoey's bed to wake her up.

Zoey sat up with a start immediately I landed on her bed. She sucked her teeth in irritation when she noticed it was me and fell back into the bed covers.

"What's your problem, Sam?" she whined. "Can't you see it's too early in the morning?"

"Don't you want to go and see WINNER or what?" I asked as I looked down at her.

At first she didn't say a word until she scrambled to sit up, pushing the bed covers aside and looking at me with her eyes wide open.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"Get ready, we're going for practise," I said as I stood up from the bed.

"We're going to YG for practise? And meet WINNER there?" Zoey couldn't believe it. "Collins agreed?"

"Ya. So get your lazy butt out of bed and let's go. I'll go wake up the others."

"Sam, I love you," said Zoey with a smile. "You really had it all planned out, didn't you?"

"I did say I had a plan, right?" I shrugged my shoulders. "And Collins agreed without an argument."

"I can't wait for GD to see this. And he said your plan wouldn't work."

"Sometimes it's nice to prove people wrong." I smiled and headed out of the room.

I went to wake up Christine who couldn't understand why we were going for practise until I told her that we had to meet WINNER at YG.

"Wow, seriously?" Christine asked as she rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. "Collins agreed to go back to the old routine?"

"I gave a reasonable explanation so, he agreed. Now, get your gym bag all packed up. You don't want to miss meeting Jinwoo now, do you?"

I noticed Christine blush out of no where and I decided not to taunt her about it. I quickly walked out of the room to go and wake my brothers up. And as much as they were excited that we were back to doing the old routine, they were happy that they would be meeting WINNER again.

When we all had our bags packed and we were all dressed ready to go for practise, we found ourselves in the lounge. Collins and Lee had stopped discussing and looked at us.

"Well, that was quick," said Collins.

"We don't need to do so much when going for practise, do we?" Zoey asked. "You told us that."

"She's right," said Lee as she looked at Collins.

"I hate when you use my words against me," said Collins. "Let's go before you start to say something I'm not looking forward to hearing."

"You know I can't do that, Collins," said Zoey. "I care too much."

Collins rolled his eyes and that almost made me laugh. "I'll keep that in mind," he said as he stood up from his chair. "Let's go."

"Isn't Lee coming with us?" Daniel asked.

"I would really love to, guys, but we've a lot of work to do," said Lee. "I'll make sure to pass by at lunchtime to check on you."

"You should, we have a lot to tell you," said Christine.

"And what would you possibly want to tell Lee that you wouldn't tell me?" Collins asked with his arms folded.

"Nothing," said Christine.

I noticed Mike give Christine a little shove on the shoulder and he whispered to her to shut up. I quickly intervened before Collins could notice and ask what was going on.

"It's just about the k-drama series we watched last night," I said. "Lee was so tired that she missed the episode that we were all planning on telling her what happened."

"You girls will tell her," said Mike. "I don't watch your k-dramas."

Collins sighed. "I don't watch k-dramas either but we all love something, right? Let's go."

We all said bye to Lee and we headed to the elevator and found the SUV waiting for us as usual outside.

When we arrived at YG, we disembarked out of the car at the entrance of the building. Collins wasn't coming in with us because he said he had to rush back to work.

"I already informed the working staff that you guys will be around," said Collins as he talked to us through the car window. "You guys behave yourselves, okay?"

"Don't worry about a thing, Collins," I said. "I can handle it when things get out of hand."

"I know you will. See you later."

"Bye, Collins," said Zoey and Christine at the same time as they waved at Collins who waved back.

Immediately the car drove out of the YG premises, we all turned around and found ourselves in the lobby.

"I can't believe this is happening," said Christine so excitedly as we walked towards the elevator.

"I know. Sam is a genius!" Zoey said as she wrapped her arm around my neck and brought me closer to her.

"Careful, Zoey," I said as I waved at the receptionist at the desk, who happily waved back at us. "And you're squeezing me to death."

"My sis has always been a genius," said Daniel.

"Did you text them that we're already here?" Mike asked.

"I did that when we were in the car," I said when Zoey had finally let go of my neck and we had reached the elevator.

"Good, so we wait," said Zoey as she pressed the up button of the elevator.

"No," I said as the doors flew open and we all went in. "We practise." The doors closed before us and I pressed the button to the floor leading to the dance studios.

"Are you kidding me?" Zoey moaned as she leaned on the walls.

"We did say we come here for exactly that, didn't we? It would look weird if we were just snooping around doing nothing."

"And besides, I don't think we've gone for practise in the morning for a while now," said Mike. "I really missed dance."

"We just danced three days ago," said Zoey, with her eyebrow raised.

"That's different."

"Ya, I still get what you mean. So, we practise and while we do that we wait for WINNER."

"Exactly," I said as I smiled at Zoey. "Not so hard to do, isn't it?"

"Don't mind, Zoey," said Christine. "We all know her too much already."

"I'm not a lazy bum if that's what you mean," said Zoey.

We soon got to the dance studios and when we occupied one of themy which was empty, we began to practise right away.

It was so much fun getting back to our old routine. I soon had that sense of relief after we practised even though I was tired after our first few rounds. I was born to dance and I realised that I had missed doing it.

"What time are these guys coming?" Zoey asked as she was seated on the floor.

"It isn't even close to two hours, Zoey," I said with my hands on my hips.

"I know, I'm just impatient and I'm already tired of practise."

"I'm so glad I told Collins that we should do this again. You've become so lazy. Stand up. Let's go for another round."

"Another round!" Zoey complained. "Can't we at least wait for the boys and Christine to come back?"

Christine, Mike and Daniel had gone out to fetch water bottles for all of us downstairs a good five minutes ago.

"Come on, let's go one on one, just you and me," I challenged.

"No way," said Zoey, still on the floor and shaking her head. "You know that you're a way better dancer than I am."

"Mike's like 'the' best in our group."

"And you're second. There's not much of a difference."

"Come on, Zoey," I pleaded as I went over to the Beats by Dre pill, lying a few feet away from us. "I promise I'll play that song you really like."

"What song?"

I didn't answer when I got my phone that was lying close to the pill and went through my music list. I tapped on the track, "The Greatest" by Sia and the music on the pill soon started to play.

I turned around and I found Zoey already up from the floor and looking at me. I smiled. I knew she would get up to this song.

"I hate you, Sam," she said as I approached her.

"Just dance, Zoey," I said as we stood a few feet away from her, facing her.

When the lyrics were sang out, Zoey started to dance and I watched her, then it was my turn to step in and dance too.

It's been a while since I had a real dance battle with Zoey and I had to admit, I was enjoying myself. Though we were dancing to one of Zoey's favourite songs and she was so good at dancing to it, I felt I was up to her level.

At the end of it, the whole thing didn't finish like a dance battle. We danced together both our moves synchronising with one another.

When the song was done, the two of us were facing each other and panting like crazy.

"That was so cool," said Zoey. "Let's do that again."

"Wow! You two were awesome," came Mino's voice behind us.

Zoey and I turned around and there stood, Mino and Seunghoon, both smiling at us.

"Aaah! You're here!" Zoey exclaimed excitedly and ran over to them. I was too exhausted to run, so I walked.

"Morning guys, how are you doing?" Zoey greeted them. "I wish I could hug you but I'm all drenched in sweat."

"We're great," said Mino. "Can we watch you two dance battle again? It was awesome."

"You watched the whole thing?" I asked as I finally got closer.

"Pretty much," said Seunghoon.

"Okay, so who do you think is a better dancer?" Zoey asked.

"Zoey," I gave her that look telling her that it wasn't necessary.

"No, like, seriously," Zoey went on completely ignoring me. "Whose the best?"

Mino and Seunghoon both looked at each other and I didn't want to know what was running through their minds. They smiled and went on to look at Zoey and I.

"I think Sam is a better dancer," said Seunghoon.

"Well, I think Zoey is," said Mino.

Zoey smiled to herself. "And it's a tie. We need more votes."

"Zoey can you just drop the whole thing? It's not really necessary," I said.

"Where is Seungyoon and Jinwoo?" Zoey asked, ignoring me again. "Didn't you all come together?"

"We met the other Toxins downstairs and they decided to stick with them," Mino answered.

"We will wait for them and then Sam and I can dance again and see who is the best."

I shook my head at Zoey and said nothing. She could be so persistent at times and right now, I couldn't do anything to stop her.

"Seunghoon, you I need to talk," I said as I looked at him.

"Ya, sure. What is it?" Seunghoon asked.

I nudged my head to the side telling him to follow me. I went over to the wall and leaned my back on to it. I had the back heel of my right foot pressing against the wall as I was staring at Seunghoon as he came closer.

"I want to know everything," I said with my arms folded.

Seunghoon lips were raised to a smile. And it was a corky one. That meant he knew what I was talking about. I wished he could stop doing that. He was making me lose focus.

"You aren't letting this go, are you?" he asked with his eyebrow raised.

"The others might, but I haven't," I said. "And I can also bet, the BigBang members aren't going to either. So, were you the one at the park hiding behind the trees when TOP came to pick me up?"

Seunghoon took a step closer and answered, "yes."

"And the one who was standing behind the door when I was alone in the recording studio and I chased you down the hall?"

He again took a step closer. "Yes."

Well, that made sense since the time I was chasing him down the hall, I never caught him because he had disappeared when I reached the lobby and no one had seen him. Only a person who knew YG could know where to go without being seen.

I hadn't realised it till now that I was looking up at him. He was so tall and he was looking down at me, his eyes never leaving mine. I gulped at how close he was that I could feel his body warmth. And that made me pretty uncomfortable.

"So, its been you the whole time?" I asked as I looked away, trying to ignore him and how close he was.

"Well, yes," he answered. "The others knew about it and they didn't like the idea of me stalking you. But I couldn't because I'm such a big fan of The Toxins."

"If you're such a fan why didn't you stalk the others as well?" I asked as I looked at him. "I'm not the only Toxin."

"Apparently you happen to be my bias," said Seunghoon as he leaned closer and whispered in my ear.

I blushed and I was a little surprised that he used the word "bias." In Korea, most people refer to that word when it was comes to the person who tends to be a personal favourite or most liked especially in relation to k-pop celebrities.

Seunghoon playfully tapped the tip of my nose and he laughed. "You look so cute when you blush. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Well, yes," I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I bet most of the BigBang members say that about you."

"No, they don't," I lied and Seunghoon laughed. He could clearly see through me because I was blushing too much. I shoved him aside and walked away. Luckily, the others had arrived.

"Good, the two groups are complete," said Zoey as she clapped her hands together.

"A 'hi' would be nice, don't you think?" Jinwoo suggested as he walked alongside Christine.

"That's Zoey," I said. "How are you two doing today?" I asked Seungyoon and Jinwoo.

"We're great," Seungyoon answered. "And you?"

"Awesome," I replied.

"Okay, Sam get over here," said Zoey as she took hold of my hand and dragged me with her.

"What the....Zoey!" I tried to pull my arm away from her grip but I was still being dragged along either way.

"What's going on?" Mike asked. I bet he had a confused look on his face.

Zoey stopped when she and I stood a few feet from the others. She turned to look at them.

"Sam and I are going to have a dance battle," she said.

"Huh?" Christine looked confused.

"Is that really necessary?" Daniel asked. "You should be having a dance battle with Mike not Sam."

"And besides, you and I have countless dance battles back home," I said after I pulled my hand away from her grip. "If you ask me, we were just having fun until Mino and Seunghoon showed up."

"Zoey, Sam is a better dancer than you. Period," said Mike as he unscrewed a bottle of water and drank some.

"That's not what Mino said," said Zoey with her hands on her hips.

"You should have seen the dance battle these two had," said Mino. "It was pretty awesome."

"I would also love to see it," said Jinwoo.

"Pretty, please?" Seungyoon pleaded with his hands clapped together and looking at me with those cute adorable eyes of his.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one doing the puppy eye thing. The four WINNER members were all doing but as they looked at me. Mino even had to pout his lips and that just made him look even more adorable.

I wanted to look away but I couldn't. They were really making me do something I didn't want to do.

"Come on, Sam," said Zoey. "Look, they are even doing the puppy eyes. So cute."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Fine. Let's battle," I said as I walked over to the audio Beats by Dre pill.

"Yes!" I heard the four of them cheer. I smiled at their reaction as I got my phone and looked at the track list. Then, something came to me.

"Change of plans, Zoey," I said as I turned around. Everyone's eyes were now on me. "If you want this dance battle, I suggest we pick another song."

"Okay, fine," said Zoey. "I'm up for it."

"Since we danced to one of your favourite songs, I'll pick my own." I gave her a smirk. "And it's a k-pop song."

"This just got interesting," said Mino.

"Fine, whatever." Zoey rolled her eyes. "What song are we dancing to?"

"Ringa Linga (링가 링가) by Taeyang," I beamed. "One of my personal favourites."

"Taeyang is going to love this," said Mike as he went over to his gym bag to get his phone. "Good song choice by the way, Sam. It's also one of my favourites."

"Thanks," I smiled at my brother who had his phone ready to capture a video. I turned to look at Zoey. "Ready for this."

"Totally," said Zoey, as she looked back at me.

I tapped the track on my phone and quickly put the phone next to the audio pill and quickly rushed to stand face to face with Zoey.

When the song started, I took the dance floor and danced. Then Zoey stepped in. We kept taking turns, but whenever it came to the chorus, she and I would dance together, dancing to the actual moves done in the actual music video. I was a little surprised dancing to the moves because I had never tried to practice on them before. All I ever did was watch. And Zoey was also doing a pretty good with the moves too.

When the song was done and Zoey and I stood there in our stance, there was a loud cheer coming from the others.

"Wow, totally mind blowing," said Jinwoo.

"Whenever it came to the chorus, it didn't look like you were having a dance battle at all," sais Seungyoon. "I've to say, that was pretty sweet to watch."

"I loved everything about this dance battle," said Mino. "I could watch you two all day long."

"Thanks, guys," I said.

"I loved that you danced to that song," said Christine.

"Now, coming to my question," started Zoey, trying to gather her breath. I rolled my eyes as I walked away and got a water bottle from Christine. "Who do you think is a better dancer?"

"Wait," I said before anyone could say anything. I put the bottle of water to my lips and drank some water. "Don't answer that."

"Why?" Zoey asked.

"I think you and I both danced really well and there is no need to ask. Besides, you and I have never practised on those moves in our lives, especially on the chorus. That counts for something, right?"

"I agree with Sam," said Daniel. "You two were great."

"Sam is right," said Seungyoon. "I wouldn't also fuss about it if I were you."

"I still want to know though," said Zoey.

"Fine, I've a better idea," said Mike. "Why don't we ask the whole world to vote?"

"Wait, you want to ask our fans?" Daniel asked.

"Well, ya." Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want to vote because I think it's pretty obvious who is the best." He put so much emphasis on that last sentence as he looked at Zoey.

"Mike's right," said Zoey as she approached him. "Let our fans choose who won the dance battle."

"This is pathetic," I muttered to myself as I drank some more water.

"I also think it will be great if the fans see this," said Jinwoo. "They will love it and will obviously bring out a better opinion."

"See, even Jinwoo agrees," said Zoey as she looked at me.

"Count me out of it," I said as I raised my hands midway in the air and took a step back. "I don't care what you people do at the end of the day."

"Fine, I'll create a voting poll and upload the video. At the end of the day, we will see how all this comes out," said Mike, as he tapped away on his phone. "Though I'm pretty sure Sam will win."

"You're just saying that because she's your sister," said Zoey. "I know I'm going to win."

"No, it's because I'm speaking the truth. Daniel, back me up on this one."

"Don't look at me, I would rather see what the fans think," said Daniel.

Zoey and Mike soon got into their little debate while the others listened. I decided to ignore them and went over to get my phone and the audio pill. Looked like practise was already over since everyone was now talking about the dance battle.

I got my phone and the pill in my other hand. I was checking my phone for any messages until I soon felt a sudden presence of someone standing next to me.

"Well, you don't seem so enthusiastic about the whole thing," came Jinwoo.

I turned to look at him and he had that friendly smile on his face. I smiled back at him in an instant. Felt more like an impulse. His smile was so warm, you couldn't easily ignore it. Even a person who had been grumpy the whole day would smile if they were to look at him.

"No," I replied, still with a smile on my face. "I don't want to know what the fans think and I'm clearly not in a mood."

"If you ask me, I think you clearly won the dance battle," he said.

"Thanks, but make sure Zoey doesn't hear that. I wouldn't like to see her yell at you."

"Trust me, I wouldn't. Mike did say she is a drama queen for a reason."

"You're right about that."

I looked behind me with a smile and I could see the debate heating up a little. I wasn't too worried about my brother and Zoey. They might have their differences, but they never got into a serious fight, better yet a physical one. The two of them arguing was an everyday drama I never got to stress over.

"They aren't going to stop, are they?" Jinwoo asked.

"Not anytime soon," I said as I looked at him. "What are we planning to do today, anyway? We all can't stay here at YG."

"Have no clue. Any bright ideas?"

"No, not yet actually." I stared at my phone to look at the time. "It's almost ten. Collins expects us to be here till lunch."

"Maybe we can sneak out. And go some place to have fun."

"Ya, you're right. Though we all shouldn't be seen together or else it will raise questions."

"May I ask what you two are up to?" Christine asked as she approached us with Daniel.

"We're planning a way to sneak out of the place without being seen together," I replied.

"Sneak out? Why?" Daniel asked.

"We made plans to hang out with WINNER, didn't we? And we can't do it here."

"Then, how are we going to get out?" Christine asked.

"It's a Sunday and there isn't a lot of people around," said Jinwoo. "It's not going to be that complicated."

"I sure hope so," I said. I turned to look at Christine and Daniel. "Let's all hit the showers real quick and then we can leave this place."

"What about those two?" Daniel asked with his thumb pointing at Zoey and Mike behind him who were still debating. It looked it would turn into an argument anytime soon.

"They will notice when we're gone," I said. "If the others ask where we are, tell them we've gone to freshen up, will you, Jinwoo?"

"Sure," he said with a smile.

Christine, Daniel and I went over to get our gyms bags and we walked out of the studio without the others even noticing, except for Jinwoo of course.

Twenty minutes later, I was walking out of the girl's shower room all freshened and dressed up in a white t-shirt with blue polkadots and matching black jeans with flat black boots. I was carrying my gym bag and was walking alongside Christine who wore a pretty apple green summer dress. We had left Zoey in the shower room, still patching herself up.

"Well, you look pretty today in that dress," I said as I looked at Christine.

"Oh, thanks," said Christine as she smiled. "I just thought of wearing it."

"Why? Anything special?"

"No, why do you ask?" Christine looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, nothing," I stared up at the ceiling as we were soon approaching the men's shower room. "I thought since that dress is so pretty and nice, you must have worn it either for a special occasion or for a special someone."

We stopped right at the open entrance of the men's shower room and Christine looked at me.

"There is no special occasion," said Christine.

"Then it's for a special someone, right?" I looked her directly in the eye and I had a playful smile on my face.

"It's not that either." She rolled her eyes.

"Your eyes say it all, Christine. And I know it's one of the guys from WINNER."

"What are you talking about?"

"You like Jinwoo, don't you?"

Christine's mouth fell open and she closed it immediately. I could see that she was blushing and she managed to look away thinking that I wouldn't notice.

"No, I don't," she said. "Jinwoo is a nice guy but that doesn't mean I 'like like' him. Maybe I do like him but only as a fan girl."

"Please, I saw the way you looked at him yesterday and today. There is no doubt in my mind that you really like him. If you ask me, you two would make a great couple."

"Stop dreaming, Sam," said Christine. "Don't forget Collins' golden rule. We can't date any of these guys. And besides, I only like Jinwoo as a friend and nothing more."

"Ya, right," I said as I folded my arms. "I saw the way you looked at the both of us when we were discussing on how we were going to sneak out of here. You had that weird look on your face."

"What weird look?"

"The jealous one."

"Spare me the drama, Sam."

"If Zoey was the one talking to you about this right now, you wouldn't have the chance to breathe. At least I'm not even pushing you to admit that you like Jinwoo."

"You do have a point," said Christine as she nodded her head and stared at the ceiling.

"Which one? The part for Zoey or the fact that you like Jinwoo?"

"Very smart, Sam." She frowned at me. "But I'm not falling for that one."

I winced. She caught me. Now I wouldn't know if she really liked him or not.

The boys suddenly appeared coming out of the men's shower all dressed up and ready to go.

"Well, someone looks nice today," said Daniel as he looked at Christine.

"Oh, thanks, Daniel," said Christine as she smiled.

"See, even Daniel has noticed that you're glowing," I said as I smiled at Christine.

"She is," said Mike, as he looked at Christine. "Anything special going on?"

"No!" Christine answered quickly and shaking her head.

Mike gave Christine a look and shrugged his shoulders afterwards, brushing it off. But I knew that look very well. He had a hunch that something was up. And he wasn't wrong about that.

We decided to go back to the dance studio where WINNER were waiting for us, hoping that Zoey would catch up with us sooner or later. And when we got into the studio, this happened:

"Wow, you two ladies are looking fine," said Mino, his eyes fixed on Christine and I.

"Just magnificent," said Seungyoon.

"Thanks," Christine and I replied at the same time.

"You're all just smoking hot," said Seunghoon. His eyes then fully rested on me. "Especially you, Sam."

I wanted to frown at him but I ended up blushing instead. He smiled at me and winked. At that moment, I felt like my heart was about to explode.

"I think Christine also looks really nice," said Jinwoo with a smile.

I looked at Jinwoo and I couldn't help but notice that smile on his face. I accidentally smiled at him and then at Christine. Mike who stood beside her looked at me with an eyebrow raised. I quickly looked away.

"Thanks," said Christine, as she blushed.

"Where is Zoey?" Seungyoon asked.

"Making herself look like a barbie doll," said Daniel.

"Ya, that's how I would put it," I said with a smirk. "And she's taking forever. She should be here by now."

"Want to go and check up on her?" Mino asked.

"Good idea. Let's go."

"You're going with Mino?" Seunghoon asked.

"Do you have a problem with that?" I asked as I dropped my gym bag to the floor and folded my arms.

Before he could say anything, I quickly turned around and started to walk out of the room. I heard footsteps behind me and I could tell it was Mino. When we stepped out of the room, he was snickering.

"You really put him in his place, didn't you?" Mino asked as we walked down the hall.

"Just because I'm his bias doesn't mean he could follow me around," I said. "I mean, him being in my closet last night was more than enough, don't you think?"

"Ya, trying to hide in your closet was a pretty big surprise."

"And you all helped him with it. How did you manage to get on our floor and trip the hotel lights anyway?"

"Actually, it was only just your floor that we tripped the lights on. And if it came to coming to your floor, we pulled a few strings."

"How can I forget. You're WINNER." I rolled my eyes.

Mino laughed and I heard him mutter, "cute." I pretended I never heard that and raised the corner of my lips to a smile.

When we got to the elevator, I was just about to push the elevator button when the doors suddenly flew open. My jaw dropped when I saw who was standing right inside the elevator.

"You look really surprised to see me," said TOP, as he stepped out.

"I....." I cleared my throat. "I haven't seen you in a while now."

"Did you miss me?" he asked as he gave me that bad boy smile of his and stepped closer, giving me a hug.

"I did actually. I thought you might be busy with something these past days," I said as we broke away from each other.

"I was. And I see G-Dragon wasn't lying about what happened yesterday."

TOP turned to look at Mino who gave him a salute. TOP smiled as his eyes flew back to me.

"You know you're going get in so much trouble, right?" TOP asked.

"We know," I said. "I managed to try and convince Collins for us to come here. We will be sneaking out very soon."

"Sneaking out together? Don't you think that's too risky. No one should even know that you've already met."

"We came up with something," said Mino. "Don't you worry."

"Well, if you're planning to sneak out, then you better do it fast." TOP had a smirk on his face and I could tell something was up.

"Wait a minute," I stopped TOP before he could say anything else. "Your manager is here, isn't he?"

"Did you just read my mind?" TOP asked. "I like that."

"No, I read your body language." I put my palm over my forehead. "This is bad. Where is he?"

"He's downstairs with some visitors," said TOP. "He plans on showing them around the place."

"And if he sees us together he is going to freak out," said Mino.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked TOP. "It's a Sunday."

"I came to see you guys at the hotel and Lee told me you were here practising," TOP answered. "Which you aren't doing at the moment."

"We were done minutes ago. Right now, we have to figure out how we are going to dodge your dear manager."

"Ya, while you figure that out, they will be coming up any moment now."

"Okay, then you go and tell the others not to leave," I instructed him. "I'll go down with Mino to get Zoey as fast as we could."

"I hate it when someone orders me around but I'll do it for you anyway," said TOP as he held my chin for a brief moment.

"Thanks," I said as I looked at Mino and he and I both went in the elevator.

We headed downstairs to the shower room and just as we stepped out of the elevator, there was Zoey in the hall, taking selfies with her phone.

"There you are," I said as we walked up to her. "What took you so long?"

"Trying to look good," said Zoey as she put her phone away in her gym bag. "Besides, I had to take a few photos for my fans. They complain they haven't seen me in a while. What are you two doing here? I was just about to come up."

"Well, the worst is happening," said Mino.

"Don't tell me Collins is here," said Zoey with a horrified look on her face.

"That's even a better guess," I said. "It's Yang Hyun-suk."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No," said Mino. "TOP just told us he's here and he's not alone."

"This isn't good," said Zoey. "What are we going to do?"

"He shouldn't see The Toxins with WINNER," I said. "That's what we have to do. Come on, let's go before he gets here."

Just as I turned around to head back to the elevator, I saw the elevator monitor show that someone or some people were coming up the elevator and had stopped on the the floor we were on.

"Quick, let's go the other way," I said, quickly turning around and rushing down the hall before the elevator doors could open.

Just as we turned round a corner, near the women's shower room was a door. I quickly opened it. It was a janitor's closet. I let the other two go in before I did. I heard voices coming down the hall from the elevator and I silently closed the door. The room was soon covered in darkness.

"What are we doing in here?" Zoey asked.

"Ssh, keep your voice down," I whispered.

"Fine," she whispered. "What are we doing in here?"

"What do you think we're doing? Hiding from Yang Hyun-suk."

"Are you sure it's him coming out of that elevator?"

I didn't say anything as we all listened quietly and heard voices and footsteps coming down the hall. The people bypassed the door and I could clearly hear Yang Hyun-suk's voice.

Gosh, I muttered in my head. If I hadn't thought of hiding when I saw the elevator monitor, we would have been in so much trouble.

We heard the footsteps and voices start to fade as they went further down the hall.

"What are we going to do now?" Mino whispered.

"And it's so dark in here," whispered Zoey.

I checked around with my hand on the wall for a switch. And when I found it, I flipped it and the light went on in the tiny room.

"Have they left?" Zoey asked.

I put my ear to the door and listened. I could still hear the faint murmuring of voices down the hall.

I shook my head. "They are still there."

Mino and Zoey both muttered in frustration. They were so impatient to get out of this tiny closet which was soon starting to get a bit uncomfortable. One thing I don't like is closed spaces, not that I was claustrophobic. Right now, we were so squeezed I was afraid I was going to drop in the bucket behind me.

I leaned on the door to hear if they were still in the hall. I couldn't hear anything.

"I think they are gone," I whispered.

"Try and check," Mino whispered.

I took hold of the door knob and slowly turned it. When it opened, I slowly and carefully swung the door open so that it wouldn't make any noise. I poked my head out of the room and looked left and right. The hall was clear.

"Come on," I said to the others as I swung the door wide open.

I stepped out of the janitor's room and Mino and Zoey followed. I slowly closed the door.

"It looks like they went towards the men's shower room," said Mino as he looked down the hall.

"That gives us enough time to use the elevator and head upstairs," I said.

The three of us were quickly running down the hall towards the elevator when Zoey's phone rang in her gym bag. And as if by coincidence, Yang Hyun-suk's voice was heard down the hall. They were coming back our way and had probably heard the phone ring.

"What are we going to do?" Zoey asked as she panicked looking for her phone in her bag.

I quickly took the bag strap from her shoulder and said, "he's heard us now, you two go back upstairs and get the others out while I distract him for a while. And you should figure a way to get out of the building before he notices anything strange."

"You want us to leave you here?" Mino asked.

"Just go, I'll buy you time. And don't use the elevator when you come down, take the stairs."

Mino and Zoey quickly ran for the elevator and got in just in time before Yang Hyun-suk appeared round the corner with other people behind him. Two men and a lady. Zoey's phone was still ringing in her bag and I was looking for it. When I finally retrieved it, I quickly looked at the caller ID. It was Christine. I cut the line immediately.

"I was wondering who was down here," said Yang Hyun-suk as he with his visitors approached me. "Nice to see you, Sam."

I quickly bowed to Yang Hyun-suk and to the visitors.

A woman who was with them said, "I see you've grown into the Korean culture pretty quickly. I've to say I'm really impressed."

I gave them a little smile while the other two men happily agreed. Yang Hyun-suk soon introduced them to me as the Chinese Internationals who had come to see the place.

"I see that you're done practising," said Yang Hyun-suk. "Where are the others?"

"Yes, they are waiting for me downstairs," I replied.

"I must say, I watched your stunning performance you did with BigBang at the Arts Centre a few days ago," said the slim looking Chinese man, who wore glasses and a black suit.

"Gomawoyo (고마워요) (Thank you)," I said as I bowed my head.

"You really do have good manners," said other man.

"Yang Hyun-suk wasn't joking when he said that you're fast learner," said the lady giving me a smile.

"I always do my best," I said politely.

"I would really have liked it if you and your grou could perform for us," said the man in glasses.

I felt my eyes were about to fall out of their sockets but I tried my best not to act surprised. All this just got a whole lot worse. What was I going to do now? I couldn't call the others to head back to the dance studio. I bet as I'm thinking right now, they are probably heading down the stairs.

"That will be great," I said with enthusiasm. "I'll just call the others to head back to the......"

Yang Hyun-suk stopped me before I could say anything more. "No, I bet you guys are tired. Collins told me you were going back to the old routine, are you not?"

I didn't know where this was going but I was feeling relieved at the moment. "Yes," I replied as I nodded my head.

"Since you haven't done so in a while, I bet you're really tired or you would have practised even longer. Maybe next time."

Phew! That was close. He has no idea how he just saved my life from his very own wrath. I was eternally grateful.

"Yes, maybe next time," said the man in glasses.

"Well, if you will excuse us, Sam," said Yang Hyun-suk. "We have places to be."

I smiled as I bowed my head and I made way for the manager and his visitors to pass to head to the elevator. I was so relieved after they got in and the doors closed shut before them. I held my beating heart. I hadn't realised how scared I was until now.

I quickly ran to the other end of the hall by passing the girl's shower room, turning a corner and heading to the flight of stairs right after the men's shower room. Just as I was about to descend the stairs, I heard voices and footsteps above me. I looked up and I saw the people I was expecting to see.

"Sam! You're okay," said Seunghoon as he was the first one to quickly rush down and reach me. He pulled me into a hug.

"I wasn't being a chased by a lion, you know?" I said as I broke away from him. "I'm fine."

"I told you she can handle herself with your manager," said Zoey as she came down the downstairs with the rest.

"I had no doubt about that in my mind," said Seunghoon.

"Then why did you hug me?" I asked shrugging my shoulders.

"Because I missed you."

I rolled my eyes and said nothing.

"Well, we all better get going or else you might just meet them again," said TOP.

We all started to rush down the stairs, as if we were being chased by Yang Hyun-suk himself.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we were faced with a new problem. We all couldn't walk out through the main door because the receptionist was in the lobby.

I was leaning on the wall of the entry way and taking a peak at the receptionist who was working on the computer.

"I think I've an idea," I said as I turned to the others waiting in the hall. "One group is going to head out through the main entrance and the other will take the emergency exit door right down at the end of the hall."

"How do you know there is an emergency exit door back there?" Mino asked as he pointed down the hall.

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't start explaining that I once used that door to sneak out myself due to some serious circumstances. When I mean that, I mean the situation that happened with Zoey and the diamond smuggler.

"Because I'm smart enough to know that there is one," I answered. "Don't all buildings such as this one supposed to have an emergency exit?"

Mino and TOP smiled at me, that I couldn't tell if they were impressed that I was smart enough to guess or that I already knew about the door. I brushed that thought away and tried to focus on the mission of getting out of here.

"We will take the back door," said Seungyoon. "Sam and the others will take the front."

"Why do we get the back door?" Mino asked.

"If we don't take the front and Yang Hyun-suk asks the receptionist if we left, it's going to raise suspicion," I said. "He knows The Toxins are here and not WINNER."

"Well, you do make a good point," said Seunghoon.

"She always does," said Christine and Daniel at the same time.

"You guys go right now and then we will come soon afterwards and meet you outside the gate," I said. "TOP, you're coming with me and the Toxins."

"May I know why?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Because I need you around."

He smiled and I turned away before he could say anything more.

Seungyoon and his group started their way down the hall and went out through the exit door. I checked Zoey's phone which I still had in my hand and decided to wait for ten minutes.

"How long do we have to stay here?" Mike asked.

"A good ten minutes," I said as I checked the time on the phone again.

"These ten minutes will feel like forever," said Zoey with an annoying look on her face.

"That is why patience pays," said Christine.

"So if you guys are going to hang out with WINNER, how are you going to do that without drawing attention to yourselves?" TOP asked.

"Why do you ask?" I asked.

"You guys can't just walk around the streets and expect no one to notice that WINNER and The Toxins are hanging out. Your fans will take pictures and that way, our managers will find out what's going on."

I smiled and checked the time again. It was close to five minutes. I looked up at TOP.

"I'm not going to hide to the whole world that we are hanging out with WINNER," I answered.

"Huh?" TOP and the rest of my team turned to look at me with confused looks on their faces.

"What the heck do you mean?" Mike asked. "We're going to get into so much trouble."

"I know," I looked at the time. "Let's go. And act natural."

"Wait...Sam," TOP called out to me, but I had already turned around the corner, walking into the lobby.

The others quickly followed behind me and their way of acting natural was so surreal, as they entered the lobby laughing as if someone had just cracked a joke. That caught the receptionist's attention that I had to look behind me worried that they might have hit their heads.

"Are you all okay?" I asked as I stopped and looked at them.

"Of course we are," said Zoey a little too loud, it was annoying. "Mike just cracked a funny joke."

"I cracked a funny joke?" Mike whispered, looking pretty confused.

"Zoey doesn't even consider you funny," said Daniel as he smiled.

"Now that's funny," said Christine as she also smiled.

"Not to me," I said as I rolled my eyes. "Can we just go?"

As soon as I turned around to continue heading out the main doors, the elevator doors to the the side of the lobby soon flew open and for a moment, I paused as I thought it was Yang Hyun-suk with his Chinese visitors. Even the others behind me paused ready for the worst.

When the people in the elevator stepped out, the world before me stood still and I felt like dropping to the floor.

My brother Mike who stood beside me had his mouth wide open and said, "OMG, it's them."

"Well, this day just got a whole lot worse," said TOP and he didn't sound too enthusiastic about it. I couldn't blame him for that.

Coming out of the elevator was none other than YG's own female k-pop group, BlackPink. And when they saw us standing there like statues, they also stopped on their tracks and they were also as surprised as we were.

I felt like I had stood still forever that my feet hurt. Zoey who stood on my other side, nudged me on the shoulder to get my attention.

"Sam? Is it me or did our day just get a whole lot complicated?" she asked, her eyes fixed on BlackPink.

I gulped and nodded my head. "Yep," I replied.

"Yep," I replied


	4. Chapter 3: Hanging Out With BlackPink and WINNER

"OMG! It's The Toxins!" Rosé exclaimed as she approached us, still not believing whether she was seeing us for real.

"Sam, hit me right now because I'm seeing Rosé and I feel like I'm dreaming," said Mike as he started to rub his eyes.

I rubbed his shoulder gently and then hit him so hard that he yelled.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?" Mike asked as he rubbed his shoulder and looked at me.

"Would you prefer I slapped you in the face instead?" I asked.

Rosé with the rest of BlackPink giggled at what happened. I looked at my brother and I could clearly see him blushing.

"Is this really for real!" Zoey asked excitedly as she jumped. "It's really BlackPink!"

"Oh, gosh!" said Christine. "This is so cool!"

"Pretty awesome if you ask me," said Daniel. "I still can't believe it myself."

"We also feel the same," said Jisoo as she came up to us and she had a wide smile on her face.

"I am such a big fan of you guys!" said Jennie.

"Same here," I said.

"Me too!" Lisa exclaimed excitedly.

"Mike has a crush on you, Jennie," Daniel blurted out all of the sudden.

"What! No, I don't!" Mike turned to look at his brother angrily.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, he does," said Christine as she turned to address Jennie.

"So cute," said Jennie as she smiled at Mike. "Just so you know, I also like you too."

"Mike has finally got a girlfriend," said TOP.

"Ya, he does," said Zoey as she smiled with glee at Mike. "Hallelujah!"

"Stop mocking me, you guys," said Mike. "It's so not funny anymore."

The BlackPink members couldn't help but smile at Mike and I for one could clearly see how embarrassed and shy he was.

"Okay, guys, enough," I said. "I think Mike has had enough for one day, don't you think?"

"It's not wrong being a fan boy, isn't it?" TOP asked.

"No, it's not." I turned to look at TOP. "But let's not forget that we have an agenda."

All eyes were on me and when I looked at each of The Toxins, I could clearly see they were confused.

"What agenda?" Christine asked.

"You know," I said, trying not to blurt out to BlackPink and the receptionist who was looking at us that WINNER were waiting for us outside. "The agenda we made some time ago upstairs."

It was then that realisation hit The Toxins and they were all nodding their heads and saying things at the same time in agreement.

"I remember now," said Daniel. "Ya, we better get going."

"Where are you all heading?" Lisa asked.

"Ummm, we were just planning to go back to the hotel," I said. "Since we're done with practise. TOP is willing to drive us there."

"Well, that's not nice," said Rosé as she pouted her lip and folded her arms. She looked like a cute angry little girl. "We get to meet you guys for the first time and we don't get to hang out? That's pretty unfair, don't you think?"

"So true," said Jisoo. "Why don't we all hang out?"

This just got tough. On one hand, we are trying to hide the fact that we already made plans to hang out with WINNER and worse off, without Yang Hyun-suk's consent. And now, BlackPink also want to hang out with us, and "still" without their manager's consent. I had to think of something.

I scratched my head. "Mmm, to be honest, I'm not sure if your manager will like it that we are all hanging out. He would freak out, don't you agree?"

"Why?" Jennie asked. "It's not like you're dangerous to be around with, are you?"

I rolled my eyes and muttered,"you've no idea."

"Our manager clearly classifies us as dangerous," said Zoey.

"Like we are weapons of ultimate destruction," said Daniel.

"He also calls us monkeys because we're too hard to handle," said Christine.

"But just because he calls us monkeys, doesn't mean we're weapons of destruction," said Mike. "We mess up, ya, but destruction is a different thing."

"Wow, Mike, really smart," said Jennie as she giggled.

"Thank you." Mike smiled confidently.

"Well, I would advise that you don't hang out with them," said TOP. "They are bad to be around with."

"That's not what Seungri oppa said some days ago," said Rosé. "He said they are fun to hang out with. So, we want to hang out with them too."

I wanted to slap my face in annoyance but I ended up looking at TOP, giving him the eye. TOP shrugged his shoulders knowing that I was blaming him for Seungri's mess. Seungri had a big mouth, that's for sure.

"I think it will be a good idea to hang out," said Zoey. I looked at her.

"But, Zoey.....," she interrupted me before I could finish.

"Come on, Sam, think about it," she said. "We don't know how long until we finally decide to go back home and this might be the only time to hang out with BlackPink. We finally get to hang out with girls for once instead of guys all the time."

"I agree," said Daniel.

"Me too," said Christine.

I looked at Mike and he was looking back at me. He finally cleared his throat.

"I also agree," he said finally.

It looked like I had no choice. WINNER were waiting for us outside and would probably be wondering what's taking us so long. And also, Zoey did have a point. We might never know when we will ever hang out with BlackPink.

"Fine, let's go," I said.

"Yes!" everyone exclaimed so happily and I was soon huddled up with hugs from my group and surprisingly from BlackPink too. TOP stood there, looking on.

"You're so going to get into trouble," said TOP as he shook his head.

"I know," I said after everyone stopped hugging me. "Remember the question you asked me before I walked into the lobby, the one I never answered?"

"Ya. What about it?"

I smiled at TOP. "Follow me and we will talk."

I started to walk out of the lobby and the others followed. We found ourselves walking across the car park and we stopped right next to TOP's car. I looked at TOP, then at his car, telling him with my eyes to open the door.

"What are you up to?" TOP asked.

"We're going to pack our gym bags in your car and go hang out with BlackPink," I answered.

"But that doesn't answer my question."

"What question?" Jisoo asked.

"Just like we want to hang out with you guys, we also planned to hang out with WINNER," I said, as I looked at Jisoo.

The four BlackPink members suddenly looked confused.

"Wait, WINNER are here too?" Jennie asked.

"Ya. That was the agenda Sam was talking about," said Christine.

"Oh," said Lisa as she slowly nodded her head. "Won't that get us into even bigger trouble?"

"That's what I told Sam," said TOP as he looked at me. "When the fans see you guys hanging out, they will take pictures and post them all over social media."

"I already know that and that's why we will just let it be," I said. "Now open the door to your car so that we can leave our gym bags in there."

"Are you hearing yourself right now?" TOP asked. He looked really surprised. "You agree that you would rather get in trouble with our managers or what?"

I tried to put a smile on my face. "If you've a little faith in me, you'll see what I mean."

"I don't know if I should trust you on this one, Sam. Remember what happened that day at the Arts Centre because of your plan? You would have gotten hurt."

"What plan?" Jennie asked as she looked at TOP and then at me.

"Don't ask," said Zoey as she rubbed the back of her neck. "It's a long story."

"Don't bring that up again, will you?" I asked as I looked sternly at TOP. "What I mean is that we don't have to hide from our managers that we have already met. We'll make it look like we all met by coincidence."

"And how are you going to do that?" TOP asked.

"We already have our fans to do that, don't we?" I asked with my eyebrow raised. "Pictures will be posted all over social media and once our managers see that we have already met, there's simply nothing they can do about it."

"Sounds like a swell idea to me," said Mike. "With the photos that will be circulating, it will all seem like we met by coincidence and just decided to hang out. Brilliant, Sam."

"I also love the idea," said Jennie.

And everyone else seemed to agree. I smiled at the positive response I got and I turned to look at TOP who looked at me with amazement. He shook his head and smiled.

"You never seize to amaze me," said TOP. "Looks like you win on this one. Again."

"Sam is just so smart," said Jisoo. "All this looks like it's going to work out just fine."

"We better get going, shall we?" I asked. "These guys have been waiting too long outside the gate."

After the four Toxins and I had packed our bags in TOP's car, we soon headed for the gate and the guard standing by, opened it for us. When we all walked out of the premises, standing close by were WINNER. And by the looks on their faces, they must have grown quiet impatient with all the waiting.

"What took you guys so......?" Seunghoon was about to ask but immediately he saw BlackPink, he stopped his sentence short. "What are they doing here?"

"They are the ones who took us so long to get here," said Christine.

"For a moment, I thought it was our manager," said Seungyoon looking surprised.

"No, they will be hanging out with us too," I said.

"Huh? No, they won't," said Mino, as he shook his head.

Lisa had her hands on her hips. "Yes, we will."

"The Toxins already made plans to hand out with us first," said Seunghoon. "So I don't get why you would want to join us. We're already way too many, don't you agree?"

"I agree," said Seungyoon.

"Me too," said Jinwoo.

"It's not fair that you get to hang out them just because you want to," said Jennie.

"We met them first," said Mino mockingly. "You snooze, you lose."

Jisoo stomped her foot angrily on the ground. "Well, that's not very nice!"

"Guys, stop!" I said as I decided to intervene. "Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Well, they are fighting over us," said Daniel as he smirked.

"You're not helping, Daniel." I turned to look at my brother.

"Sorry." He shrugged his shoulders. "I couldn't help it."

"Look, guys," I turned to face them. "I know we planned to hang out with WINNER first....."

The four WINNER members were smiling thinking they might have won this round, but they were in for a surprise.

"....but now that BlackPink are here and want to hang out, we have no choice but to let them join us."

"YES!" The four BlackPink members exclaimed together with the other Toxins. WINNER murmured in disapproval.

"But why, Sam?" Seunghoon asked. "It was supposed to be WINNER and The Toxins. Not WINNER, The Toxins and BlackPink."

"But what can we do?" I asked. "They caught us right before we could leave and they wanted to hang out too. Don't forget, our managers don't even know that we're all here together."

"Ya, but we're too much of a crowd, don't you think?" Jinwoo asked.

"Come on, guys," said Zoey as she came to stand next to me to address WINNER. "It's going to be so much fun. One day it will be just WINNER and The Toxins. Don't worry."

"Whatever," said Seungyoon as he folded his arms and looked upwards at the sky.

I smiled at his cute reaction. "Cheer up," I said. "You'll see that we're going to have a blast."

"That's so true," said Rosé as she came to stand on my other side. "So, what are we waiting for? We better get going before our manager ever gets to look out of his window and sees us all standing outside the gate."

"Oh, boys," I said to WINNER. "There has been a change of plans."

"What plans?" Jinwoo asked.

I told them what I had discussed with the others earlier in the car park about us being discovered by fans so that our managers will think we all met by coincidence. They didn't seem to object to it and said it was a pretty good idea.

"You guys go ahead and have fun," said TOP as he looked like he was about to turn around and head back through the gate. "I'll be heading home since you don't need me around anymore."

"Oh, no, you don't," I said as I quickly turned around and held his hand. "I still need you around."

"Need or want?" he asked as he smiled at me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You never asked about that last time," I said with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

"I like to be wanted, Sam," he said. "You of all the ladies in the world know that."

Zoey, Christine and the rest of BlackPink giggled behind me obviously enjoying the little scene in front of them. I heard Seunghoon mutter "oh brother." Oh brother, indeed.

"Fine," I looked down at my feet, took a deep breath and went back to look at him, changing my facial expression. "Don't go, Choi. I want you around. Don't go, please."

The girls yelled with glee and I could hear the boys mutter in disapproval. TOP's lips were raised into a wide smile.

"You'll make a perfect actress someday. You had me very convinced since you called me by my real name," he said as he leaned in closer and held my chin. "And I would never hesitate when it comes to the kissing scenes."

"Okay, enough," said Seunghoon as I felt him come from behind. I felt him wrap his arms around me and lift me off the ground, turning me away from TOP.

"Hoony! Put me down!" I kicked my legs in mid-air as he took a few steps down the street away from the others.

"Oh, now you're calling me Hoony," said Seunghoon as he continued on his way and I continued to struggle in his arms. "That's interesting."

"Don't be so flattered," I said as I frowned. "Now put me down! Guys, help!"

"Come on, Seunghoon," called out Jennie. "You can put her down now!"

"No," he said as he continued walking. I could hear quick footsteps behind us as I kicked the air again.

"This is ridiculous! Please, put me down!" I exclaimed. "This is embarrassing!"

"I like it when you call me Hoony," said Seunghoon. "Call me that again, will you?"

"Heck no! Put me down!"

"You're such a fighter, aren't you?"

"She's a feisty one, I can tell you that," said TOP behind us.

"She's always been a fighter," said Zoey. "Though she looks pretty innocent on the outside."

"Oh, really?" Rosé asked as she now sounded interested. "Tell me more."

I rolled my eyes when I realised that the others weren't going to help me out at all. I looked in front of me and realised most civilians walking down on either side of the street were looking our way, most especially at Seunghoon and I since I was being carried in his arms. I felt so embarrassed as I tried to break away from him again.

"Oh, we'll tell you," said Mike. "Hey, Zoey, do you remember that time when Sam punched that guy in the face on your second day of high school?"

"Oh, I remember that day," said Zoey. "You wouldn't believe it but all of that happened so suddenly."

"Tell us what happened," said Mino.

"Gosh, guys, my life story isn't some movie," I said as I rolled my eyes and kicked my feet in the air again.

"It's is now," said Seunghoon. "Now hold still so that I can also listen."

I rolled my eyes and started to think that if I could turn around and punch Hoony in the face, I would gladly do it without regret.

Zoey continued the story, "it so happened that we were walking out of the school bus on Tuesday, right after we opened school. For Sam and I, it was our second day in high school just as Mike put it. As we walked out of the bus, a classmate of ours, I believe his name was Johnny....?"

"Ya, it was Johnny," said Christine.

"You even remember his name?" I asked. To be honest, I was a little surprised.

"Of course I remember his name," said Zoey. "It's hard not to forget."

"So what did Johnny do?" Rosé asked.

"He was the like the most popular guy in school, since he was in the school football team and everything," continued Zoey. "The thing is, he always used to make fun of Sam since we were little kids. I always thought he liked her."

"No, he didn't!" I yelled. I quickly closed my mouth when my voice echoed down the street and people looked my way.

"Of course he did. Any who, when we got out of the bus, I was talking with Sam until he pulled her hair from behind. He always used to do that even in class since he also used to sit behind her. And the next thing I know, Sam had quickly turned around and all I heard was a bone crunching sound. When I turned around, Johnny was on one knee holding his bloody nose."

Everyone around Zoey listening to the story were like, "oooh!" Even Seunghoon.

"It wasn't that painful," I said. "He didn't even cry."

"A kid would have cried, Sam," said Daniel. "Johnny wasn't one."

"Did you get into trouble, Sam?" Lisa asked.

"Apparently, she didn't," Christine answered. "It all happened when they were still in the school parking lot and there were no teachers around."

"And besides, Johnny couldn't report her either," said Mike. "Not because he liked her, but because Sam was too sweet and innocent to ever get into trouble."

"That's not true," I said as I tried to turn around to look at the others but I couldn't. "He had the chance to report me to the school nurse."

"Ya, who didn't believe him because Samantha Glasson was the angel of the school who wouldn't even hurt a fly," said Daniel. "I was there in that school ward, you know? She didn't believe a thing."

"Sam was always a teacher's favourite and that's why she never got into any trouble," said Zoey. "Johnny even had to lie to his coach that he broke his nose while riding a bike and hit the pavement because it was pointless telling him the truth."

"Well, at least he never lost his good looks or else I would have done much worse," I said.

"Ya, I know. Since then, he's always been so nice to you and not bullying you all the time."

"Now I see how she never gets into trouble with Collins," said TOP. "She has that perfect angel face."

"You got that right," said Jinwoo. I could almost imagine Christine frowning.

"I don't have an angel face," I said. "All that happened in high school was simply because of pure luck. And besides, I had already built a reputation among the teachers so they always took my side."

Seungyoon laughed behind me. "Spoken like one who knows how to work on her charm."

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do," said Seunghoon as he finally let my feet touch the ground when we stopped right next to a bus stop. I felt relieved.

"Thanks," I said as I looked at Seunghoon. "It was about time you put me down."

"You were getting really heavy," said Seunghoon. "Besides, I was afraid that you might just punch me."

"Don't kid yourself," said Zoey. "Sam would never punch anyone unless it's necessary. And you also have a cute face so she wouldn't like to ruin it."

"Ha, don't tempt me," I said as I cracked my knuckles.

"So what are we even doing here?" Jinwoo asked as he looked up and down the street.

"We're supposed to hang out, aren't we?" I suggested. "I just don't know where, to be honest." I ended up scratching my head and leaning my back on the pole of the bus stop sign.

"Or we can just wait for the bus since Seunghoon brought us here in the first place," said Seungyoon.

"Well, we have to think of something or else we might just go in the bus and end up going nowhere," said Jisoo.

"Why don't we do that?" Zoey suggested. "Just let the bus drive us wherever it goes. I bet we will figure out where to go from there."

"That sounds crazy, but it might just work," said TOP.

"Oh, look!" Christine pointed down the street. "Here comes the bus now."

"I can't believe I'm about to enter a bus with no clue as to where I am going," I said. "Anyway, I think it's a good thing since we have never used public transport before during our stay here."

"That sounds like an adventure on its own, doesn't it?" Seunghoon asked.

I stared up at the clear blue sky as I thought of what to say next. "I guess you're right on that one." I turned to smile at him.

The bus got closer and stopped right in front of us. The doors automatically flew open. At first we hesitated, looking at each other and wondering who was going to go in first.

"If you're worried about the bus fare, don't worry," said TOP. "We can all go in and I'll pay."

"I was waiting for you to say that," I said as I smiled at TOP. "That's why I needed and not wanted you around."

"Ladies, first," said Mino.

"Thank you, Mino," said Zoey as she got into the bus first, then the rest of us ladies followed.

"Collins is going to freak if he were ever to find out that we're in a bus," said Christine as she took a seat.

"So will our manager," said Rosé as she took the next set of seats behind Christine.

"This going to be so fun," said Zoey as she sat next to Rosé.

"Wanna take a selfie?" Rosé asked.

"Sure!"

I sat behind Rosé and Zoey who were busy taking pictures with Rosé's phone. Jisoo and Lisa sat behind me. I looked around the bus and noticed that there were only three people in the bus apart from us. They were all older looking who seemed to be minding their own business. They occupied the last three rows in the bus. The bus wasn't full like I thought it would be.

"Weird," I said when Jennie came to sit next to me. "I thought it was full."

"Must be because it's a Sunday in the morning," said Jennie.

"It's almost close to noon," said Jinwoo as he sat on the opposite side of the bus. "Doesn't look like it's a busy hour."

"Won't Collins be calling us soon?" Mike asked as he sat in front of Jinwoo.

"Don't scare me, Mike," said Zoey as she immediately stood up from her seat. Rosé quickly pulled her back down with her hand on Zoey's arm.

"You're making her nervous again," said Daniel as he came in the bus and sat next to Jinwoo.

"Well, he is supposed to call to check up on us," I said. "We'll just say that we went out with TOP. And in that way, we will supposedly meet with WINNER."

"And what about us?" Jisoo asked.

"Well, the receptionist is obviously going to tell our managers that we've already met BlackPink," I answered. "So, I'm not that worried."

"Smart," said Seungyoon who also sat on the opposite side with TOP in front of Jinwoo and Daniel.

"That's why I think girls with brains are hot," said Seunghoon who sat in the same row as I was with Jennie on the opposite side. He was looking at me deeply with his hand under his cheek and his elbow leaning on the top of the seat.

"Remind me to slap him if he acts funny, will you, Mino?" I said to Mino who sat next to Seungyoon close to the window.

"Whatever you say, BK," said Mino as he gave me a thumbs up.

I hadn't noticed that the bus was already moving until I looked out of the window and down the streets of Seoul. It's been a while since I ever got to use public transport and it reminded me of the old days back home when I would use the bus to move around town.

"Hey, guys," said Mike. I turned to look at him and he had his phone in his hand. "Someone's calling."

"Please, don't tell me it's Collins!" Zoey squealed as she covered her ears and skidded down on her seat, hiding herself.

"Don't be such a whim," said Mike. "It's Taeyang."

"Taeyang!" I exclaimed excitedly with the rest of the other ladies. Zoey excitedly sat up on her seat.

"Why do the ladies love him?" Seungyoon asked with a confused look on his face. "I fail to understand."

"He's amazing," I said.

"He's so likeable," said Lisa.

"He's handsome," said Christine.

"He's a gentleman," said Jisoo.

"He's hot," said Jennie.

"Freakin' hot," Zoey added.

"And kindhearted," said Rosé.

"Okay, why don't you tell him that since its a video call," said Mike as he got up from his seat and stood in the aisle as he answered the call holding the phone up.

"Hey, Taeyang," said Mike as he waved at the screen.

"Mike, hey," came Taeyang. "I saw the video you sent me of Sam and Zoey. That was one awesome dance battle."

"Awww! Thank you!" Zoey magically appeared beside Mike so that she could talk to Taeyang.

"Hey, Zoey," said Taeyang. "You two were great."

"Who do you think won? I mean, it was a dance battle and we danced to your song, so you should probably announce the winner."

"Don't answer that!" I yelled as I stood over the chair, jumped over the seat and Jennie, joining Mike and Zoey on the aisle.

"Why don't you want me to answer that, Sam?" Taeyang asked.

"Well, I think we danced very well," I said as I smiled at him. "So there is no need."

"And besides, I put up a voting poll online and by the end of the day, we'll be able to see what the fans think," said Mike.

"Wait! What dance battle?" Lisa asked.

"Who is that?" Taeyang asked. "Sounds familiar."

"Tae!" Lisa exclaimed gleefully as she came and stood right behind me waving at Taeyang on the screen.

"Aaaah!" Taeyang looked like he had just seen a ghost and almost dropped his phone. He edged closer to the camera, clearly not believing his eyes. "Lisa? What are you doing with these guys?"

"Hanging out," Lisa answered.

"Isn't that risky? Our manager doesn't know, does he?"

"Oh, no," said Zoey as she shook her head. "You shouldn't even tell him, yet alone Collins."

"Of course I wouldn't," said Taeyang. "I just hope the whole BlackPink isn't there with you."

"Surprise!" came Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé as they also came to join us on the aisle.

"Aish!" Taeyang hit his forehead and looked like he was about to faint. "Now you're really in trouble."

"Don't worry about a thing, Tae," said Mike. "It's not like we're doing anything wrong."

"When The Toxins are around, there is bound to be trouble."

"Hey!" Daniel came and squeezed in right next to Zoey. "You know, you sound just like our managers."

"Well, we have been around you a lot haven't we?"

The three Toxins and I nodded our heads, murmuring in agreement.

"But we're not that bad," said Mike.

"No, you aren't," said Taeyang. "But you know how our managers think."

"I tried to warn them," said TOP. "But they never listen to me."

"Is that Choi with you?"

Mike turned the phone camera around so that Taeyang could be able to see TOP. What Taeyang was about to see next wasn't going to be good at all.

"What the.....!" Taeyang sounded surprised when he not only saw TOP but WINNER as well.

TOP with the rest of WINNER waved at Taeyang over the phone.

"You're in super mega trouble now," said Taeyang.

Mike turned the phone back to his direction. "We know," he said.

"Wait, a minute. Are you guys in a bus right now?"

"Yep," I answered.

"Where are you all going?"

"To have fun, of course," said Jennie.

"Why did I even bother to ask? Just try not to attract any attention among yourselves out there."

"That will be impossible, Tae," said Jisoo. "I mean, three of the famous pop music groups walking down the street? That's certainly going to raise everyone's attention."

"Whatever. You just have fun and try not to do any funny business."

"Don't worry about a thing," said Lisa. "We're with The Toxins. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Ummmm, guys," came Christine. "You might want to sit down."

"Huh? Why?" Rosé asked.

Before Christine could say anything else, the bus skidded to a stop and the next thing I know, I was tumbling to the bus floor on the aisle since I lost balance with Zoey and the rest of the BlackPink. I fell back first onto the floor. Mike and Daniel remained standing as they were holding on to the bus pole.

"The bus was planning to stop," said Christine as she got up from her seat and looked at us on the floor. "Are you guys okay?"

"Never better," said Zoey as she held her head and got up. She hit her face real hard on the floor.

Jennie who fell beside me soon got up and before I could fully get up myself, someone from behind already had their hands under my arms pulling me up.

"Are you okay?" Seunghoon asked straight in my ear as I stood up from the floor. His voice almost felt like a whisper. I quickly turned around to look at him.

"I'm fine," I said.

"I hope no one has broken bones or anything," said Mino.

"We're fine," said Rosé, as she and Lisa slowly got up. "You should have helped some of us get up."

"My head hurts real bad!" Zoey complained as she still held her forehead. "Hopefully, I'm not swollen."

"No, you're not," said Christine as she came to check up on Zoey. "You'll be fine."

"This is what I didn't want to happen," said Taeyang over Mike's phone. "Hope everyone is okay."

"We're excellent," said Jennie. "To be honest that felt kind of fun. We should be falling more often."

"No!" The four Toxins and I exclaimed at the same time, looking at Jennie.

I heard the bus driver chuckle behind me and when I turned to look at him, he quickly smiled and looked away.

"Where are we anyway?" Daniel asked he looked out of the window.

"Times Square," the bus driver answered, as he turned to look at us.

"Should we go?" Jinwoo asked. "Doesn't seem like a bad place to hang out."

"Well, you seem like you all didn't know where to go," said the driver. "So, I thought this place will be just right."

"Seems okay to me," I said. "What does everyone else think?"

"We haven't really been at Times Square ourselves," said Christine. "So I say we go for it."

"If Sam says we go, we go," said Seunghoon.

"This is what I call trusting blindly," said TOP.

"Tell me about it," I said as I rolled my eyes. I almost laughed in the end.

"Okay, since we're all leaving," said Mino. "Let's go."

"Alright, Tae," said Mike as he went back to looking at his phone. "If you want to join us, you know where to find us."

"I'll consider that," said Taeyang. "Bye, guys."

We all said bye to Taeyang and the doors to the bus flew open. We all started to file out of the bus, one by one. I gave the bus driver a smile and waved at him as I walked out of the bus and he happily waved back.

When we all disembarked and the bus had finally drove away, we all looked at the massive tall buildings before us.

"So, what do you think we should do first?" Zoey asked.

"I simply have no clue," said Seungyoon.

"I think we do what we do best," said Daniel.

"And what's that?" Lisa asked as she looked at Daniel.

"Have fun," I answered.


	5. Chapter 4: From Times Square to Dance Square

Lee's P.O.V

I was so tired as I sat on the chair which I had been sitting on for so long that my butt hurt so bad and all I wanted to do was stand. I was just piling up the last documents Collins and I had been passing through earlier on in the morning in a file and I had never felt so relieved that I was done. I leaned back further on my chair and blew out a sigh. A sigh of relief.

The past two days have been pretty packed and I've been up and down all the time without a chance to relax. The only time I ever did was when it was time for bed. But even then, I still had to wake up early and get to work. Well, being Collins' assistant is what I signed up for. So I had no reason to complain.

Why should I complain? So far, being an assistant manager isn't as bad as I thought it was when I signed up for the job two years ago. That was almost the same time The Toxins were discovered and signed their record deal.

I really love my job. It's pretty involving and requires me to be here and there all the time. When I not only got to work with Collins, but also with The Toxins, my job became a concrete part of my life that I never wanted to let go of.

Collins is strict and wants everything to go according to plan, but he isn't half as bad. I got to see that when he first discovered The Toxins and those five monkeys managed to break him down, bringing up a softer side of him only a few people ever get to see. I know as manager, you always have to set your limits and put up a straight face, but I can tell you, that Collins is one heck of a friendly person and we became very good friends over the years.

And another reason I love my job is because of The Toxins. Those five came like an unexpected wrapped up bundle of joy in my life. With them, there is never a dull moment and they always make my work easier. Well, let me rephrase that: most of the times harder. But that only makes everything about them so memorable. I remember the first few months after they signed their record deal and they were all put under pressure to do their best. That period was nerve wrecking for them and even for me. But the one thing I loved about them was that they never gave up on who they were and that's how they have managed to make it this far.

As I remained seated and thought of all those times with The Toxins, I finally realised how much I missed them. I haven't been around them a lot these past days and I really wanted to know what's up. I felt a little left out and I didn't like that at all.

Not that I'm acting like a mama bear or anything, I've always cared for The Toxins. We are all like one big family. And as a friend, they also tend to confide in me for anything. Mostly Sam because she's a leader and always has to look out for her team. Whenever she needs advice or help, I'm always there to help in any way I can.

I looked at the time on my wrist watch and I realised it was fifteen minutes past twelve. I was supposed to check up on The Toxins and I completely forgot.

I quickly grabbed my phone on the dining table in front of me and I quickly dialled Sam's number. I put my phone to my ear and waited for her to pick up the call.

"Hi, Lee," said Sam when she finally answered.

"Sam, hey," I said. I was so exhausted, I rubbed my forehead. "Are you done with practise? It's lunchtime."

"Ya, we're done with practise."

I waited for her to say something else and then realised a strange noise in the background.

"Sam, where are you?" I asked. "You seem to be in some noisy place. Are you in the dance studio?"

"No, we aren't in the dance studio."

"Then where are you? In the live room recording something or what?"

"Truth be told, we aren't at YG."

Whatever ounce of exhaustion I had in my body disappeared as I sat upright. These guys weren't at YG so they were probably hanging out somewhere. And obviously without Collins' permission. Oh, boy.

"Where are you? You know perfectly well that you can't leave without either Collins' or my permission," I said.

"I know and we are so sorry," said Sam. "But we met TOP at YG and decided that we should just hang out."

I sighed as I leaned back on my chair again. "I guess if you're with TOP it's fine. But you should've informed me first."

"Is Collins with you?"

"No, he left an hour ago to attend to something. Don't know what it was really. He'll tell me about it later."

"Good. I've something else to tell you."

I sat upright on my chair in panic mode again. "What is it?"

"Well, I don't know how I should tell you, so don't get mad."

"Sam, tell me. You know I don't tell Collins if it's something serious."

"Ya, well, this is pretty serious."

"Tell me then," I insisted.

"Awwh, Lee, I don't know how to tell you! It's so complicated."

"Did you and TOP kiss?"

"What! No! No way!"

"Okay, eish." I almost pulled my phone away from my ear from her outburst. "I was just assuming that it happened."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, it's obvious he flirts with you all the time and maybe he had the chance to finally kiss you."

"I'm not ready for that kind of drama like I had last time, Lee."

"Then if that didn't happen, what's going on?"

Sam took a deep breath over the phone and hesitated for a few seconds.

"Lee, a lot has happened that you don't know about and you're going to freak if I tell you."

"Try me, Sam. I've been around you guys like forever. There is always something funny that goes on that I won't be surprised this time around."

"No, Lee, this time it's different."

"What are you waiting for then? Spill the beans already! Now you're making me nervous."

"Okay, okay. Yesterday something happened. Ummm, where can I even start? Okay, so, there was someone in the......."

Before Sam could say anything more, she was interrupted by someone in the background. For a moment, I thought it could be TOP or any of her two brothers, but I quickly realised that it wasn't.

"Sam, are you going to talk on the phone all day? We're waiting for you," came a man's voice in the background.

"Just hold on for a moment, Seunghoon. I'll be right there," said Sam.

"What the what! Sam! Whose that!" I asked. I had no idea how I had quickly stood up from my seat that even the chair behind me fell to the floor.

"Wait, hold on, give me a few seconds," I heard Sam talk to whoever it was beside her. "Lee? I know you're freaking out, but that's kind of the long story I wanted to tell you."

"Wait? Which Seunghoon were you talking to?"

"Seunghoon from WINNER."

I thought the world below my feet will open and swallow me whole any moment now. I also felt a wave of dizziness as I held my head and tried to stand steady.

"Sam, I'm going to faint right now and I'm alone in this hotel," I said. I took a deep breath. "Are you for real? Seunghoon from WINNER, like YG's own WINNER?"

"Yes! And there's a lot more that's happened, it might be worse."

"Oh no, Sam. Like what? Collins is going to freak."

"I know, but I've a plan."

"Don't you always? How bad is the situation?"

"Very bad to the point where your mind could easily be blown away. And probably not in a good way."

"Wait, Seunghoon isn't the only person with you, is he?"

"Yes, and it's much worse than that. If you want to know more, go online and see what's trending on Twitter."

"Okay, but can't I just come to where you guys are now and pick you up? Before things get any worse, I mean."

"Or you can just join in the fun. Things are already worse as it is and we're all just going with the flow. If I were you, I would be here at Times Square with us."

"Okay, I'll be there. But before then I'll have to see what kind of show you guys have put up on social media so that I know what's going on. Why of all places did you choose Times Square to hang out anyway?"

"That's another long story. You see, we were on a bus..."

"You guys went on a bus?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "I am really missing out on this."

"And there is more. So you better come here quick if you want me to tell you the whole story."

"Alright, I'm on my way."

I quickly cut the call and before I could arrange for the chauffeur to come pick me up, I went on Twitter just as Sam had suggested I should. When I saw what was on the trending list, I was a little confused.

But once I realised what was trending on number three, almost made me faint for real.

***

Sam's P.O.V

I quickly put my phone in my pocket and when I turned around, I found everyone the same way I left them, taking pictures, mostly selfies with the fans.

Since we came to Times Square, all we did was take pictures. The picture frenzy all begun when we were spotted by fans as we walked in the massive Times Square complex.

So far so good, my plan seem to be going smoothly. I got the reaction I needed from the fans and already, we were trending all over Twitter. A good thing on my part, but obviously a bad one when our managers find out. Hopefully they wouldn't get mad to the point where it might be serious.

"It's about time you were done with that call," said Seunghoon as he came flying, landed by my side with his phone held up and his arm around my shoulder to take a selfie. "Smile."

I smiled at the camera, even when I didn't want to. Seunghoon has been acting too clingy. And as much as that wasn't a bad thing, it was somewhat worrying.

"So cute," he said as he looked at the photo. "You and I make a very cute couple."

"No, we don't," I answered when I looked at the photo with my eyebrows raised.

"I agree with Sam," said TOP, who came to stand beside me to look at the photo. "You don't."

"You're just saying that because you like her," said Seunghoon.

"You're right. I do."

"Can you two fight later when I'm not here?" I asked as I waved my hand in the air.

"Don't worry Seunghoon," said Zoey as she approached us. "You two look cute together, honestly."

"Thank you," said Seunghoon as he beamed at Zoey.

TOP and I just murmured. I ended up rolling my eyes and frowning.

"Now that we have made a statement to the whole world that we've already met, what next?" Zoey asked.

"You're in Times Square," said Lisa as she came to stand beside Zoey. "One of the biggest shopping complexes in Korea. There are a ton of stuff to do around here."

"Shopping would have been nice but we didn't carry our credit cards," said Christine as she came to join us.

"Who said we need to shop to have fun?" Mino asked as he followed Christine behind her. "Times Square is an awesome place and you can do so many things."

"Fine, then what do you suggest we do?" I asked. "You guys know the place. So, I suggest you be our tour guides."

"It will be our honour," said Rosé as she came and gave a playful little bow.

"I think I know where to start," said Jinwoo.

"Where?" Zoey asked.

"Has any of you seen the largest screen in the world?"

My mind started to tingle in a funny way and I felt my face lit up when Jinwoo said that.

"Wait, a minute!" I said. "This is the place which holds the largest screen in the world, right? CGV Starium, the world's largest permanent 35 mm cinema screen."

"That's correct," said Jinwoo.

"Oh, no," said Zoey as she covered her ears. "Nerd alert!"

"Did someone just say 'Nerd alert?'" Mike asked as he came to join us after taking pictures with some of the fans with Seungyoon. "What did Sam do now?"

"Huh?" I looked confused as I shrugged my shoulders and looked at everyone else staring at me.

"You're doing that thing again where you start talking about all the knowledgeable facts you know in this world," said Zoey. "Like about the largest screen."

"Try to be more clear, Zoey. Because I still don't get it."

"Well, there's a whole lot more where that came from. Remember in high school you were always up top with general knowledge."

"Ya, true," said Mike.

"What's wrong with that?" Rosé asked. "Isn't that just how Sam is?"

"I'm not going to tolerate you guys bullying Sam," said Seunghoon as he came behind me and held my shoulders. "She's smart, so deal with it."

"No, I'm scared that Jinwoo might be joining her in the nerd train. Chooo-chooo!" said Zoey with a smirk as she imitated the sound of a train.

I looked at Zoey, then at Jinwoo who was staring back at me. He also looked as confused as I was. And right now, I was so not liking this. Not when I knew that Christine liked Jinwoo. She might get the wrong idea and I was not ready for that bumpy ride again.

"So, are we going to watch a movie then so that we can go see the big screen?" TOP asked, changing the topic immediately.

"Did someone say movie?" Daniel asked as he, Jisoo and Jennie finally joined us.

"That's if you want to see the largest screen in the world," said Seungyoon with a smile.

Daniel's mouth gaped open, his eyes full of bewilderment as he looked at Seungyoon. "You're serious, right? The largest screen in the world? That's so cool!"

"Oh, ya," said Jennie. "That sounds like a great idea."

"Well, I think we can plan on watching a movie later," said Zoey. "I just realised that I'm so hungry and I don't think popcorn will do me any good."

"Same here," said Mino.

Zoey giggled. "At least I'm not the only one. Who's up for lunch?"

Everyone including me raised their hands. I hadn't noticed that we all haven't eaten yet. And for some of us who just had dance practise and never ate any breakfast needed all the energy we could get if we wanted to last the whole day in Times Square.

"There's an open food court down this way," said Seungyoon as he jerked his head to the side pointing to the other end of the wide open lobby.

"Gosh, I've now realised that I hadn't eaten breakfast," said Daniel who walked beside me holding his tummy as we made our way towards the other end.

"What took you so long to even realise it?" Jisoo asked as she ruffled his hair.

"Sometimes the excitement gets to you that you don't feel a thing until later on."

"No wonder you Toxins have a big appetite," said TOP who walked behind me. "You never eat breakfast before practise and that's why you eat so much."

"No, we don't!" Zoey argued behind me.

"Have you seen yourself eat? I'm telling you, you guys have a massive appetite."

"But that's because we use up all our energy," said Christine. "When we practise all we take is water and nothing else."

"You should have been a fish then," said TOP as he chuckled.

Zoey, Christine and the rest of BlackPink behind me gasped in the most dramatic way any girl would ever do. The rest of us kept quiet to see where all this was going.

"That's insulting," said Jennie.

"I know I'm annoying sometimes but that doesn't mean you have to call me a fish, Choi," said Zoey.

"Okay, fine I take that back," said TOP. "You're a jellyfish."

I burst out laughing with the rest of the others. Our laughs were so loud that everyone in the wide lobby and maybe including those up the first floor of the complex, looked at us. I hope our laughs didn't echo all the way up the other floors because that would surly be something.

"Good one, TOP," said Mike as he wiped away the tears from his eyes and laughed. "I wouldn't have thought of that in a million years."

Everyone continued to laugh except from Zoey of course, who looked like like the odd one out from the rest of us with her arms folded and giving us the look showing how annoyed she was.

"I can't believe you just said that to me, TOP," said Zoey as she looked at Choi. Surprisingly her tone was calm. "You've really disappointed me."

"Don't worry, Zoey," said TOP as he came and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, giving her a brief hug. "I was just messing with you."

"Careful," said Jinwoo. "You don't want her to sting you since she's a jellyfish."

"She always stings," said Daniel. "So, TOP, you better get prepared for the worst."

"I'll sting him so bad, he will regret it," said Zoey as she furrowed her eyebrows and looked at TOP next to her. TOP just continued to smile.

"Oh, look, a stage," said Daniel, pointing in front of him. That drew our attention away from Zoey and to where Daniel was pointing at.

In the direction Daniel pointed at stood a small round stage. Daniel was even bold enough to go there and get up on it. We all followed him.

"I've missed being on stage," said Daniel as he walked around the stage with so much jolly that he even started to showcase his dance moves.

Jisoo also joined him up on the stage and started to dance alongside Daniel.

"Come on, guys, we aren't supposed to be there," said Seungyoon.

"We're just having fun," said Daniel. He turned to look at Jisoo and offered up his hand to her. Jisoo gladly took it and Daniel spun her around, dragging her close to him and in the end held her waist and bended her backwards so that she could be looking up at him and he down at her. It looked they had just done a ballroom dance and had added the finishing move.

The rest of us down the stage cheered and clapped for them. I was pretty impressed with Daniel though. I never knew he even had interest in ballroom dancing. He was one who never even had a date to his high school prom, so seeing this side of him was a shocker.

"Wow, Daniel," said Lisa. "I never knew you could dance like that."

"Thanks," said Daniel after Jisoo had finally stood up straight.

"Mum would be so proud," said Mike with a mood of sentiment in his voice. "She would think you've now grown up to be a gentleman."

"Haha, very funny," said Daniel as he folded his arms and looked at Mike. "You want me to dance again so that you can capture it on video, don't you?"

I looked at Mike and he had a smirk on his face. He already had his phone in his hand and was twirling it around like it was something light. "You know me so well, bro. Sometimes I feel we were meant to be twins."

"Thank goodness, you aren't," said Zoey. "I can't handle two Mikes."

"I'm still not going to dance so that you can capture me on video," said Daniel. "Well, not alone with Jisoo. It would look weird on my part."

"I'll join you then," said Mino as he walked up on stage and then turned around to look at Zoey offering his hand to led her up.

"Care to dance with me?" Mino asked.

Zoey folded her arms and looked away, rejecting the offer. She could be so skittish sometimes.

"No," she said still not looking at Mino. "I'm not going up there since someone called me a jellyfish. So my dance moves will obviously be pathetic."

Everyone turned to look at Zoey and suddenly us Toxins all mourned in annoyance at the same time. Mike and Daniel both hit their heads at the same time while Christine and I rolled our eyes which still landed back on Zoey. This was the melodramatic Zoey, alright. And the only way to soothe her anger was to sweet talk her somehow.

"You're still hovering over that joke?" Mike asked. "FYI, it ended a good five minutes ago."

"I never knew Zoey could be this difficult," whispered Jennie behind me in my ear.

"Trust me, this is just the scope," I whispered back.

"Come on, Zoey," said TOP. "Don't you think you're taking this a little too far?"

"No, I'm not," she replied. This time she even pouted her lip.

"It's not nice to leave Mino hanging like that," said Christine. "Don't forget that you aren't a jellyfish. You're Zoey."

"Our sweet, sweet Zoey," I added the cherry on top.

"Our sweet like sugar, Zoey," said Lisa, following my lead.

"You're sweet like sugar," sang Jisoo on stage.

"You're sweet like sugar," Jennie and Rosé sang along.

"This sugar got us sprung," Christine and I joined in.

I snapped my fingers following a certain tune and the rest of the girls even Jisoo on stage joined in. Zoey's attention was captured by us all snapping our fingers. I approached Zoey from behind with Christine, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa, forming a half circle, still snapping our fingers.

The girls: Da double dee double di [x3]

Lisa: You're sweet like

All girls: Da double dee double di [x2]

Jennie: You're sweet like

All girls: Da double dee double di Sugar

We all ended up giving a Zoey a little shove in the back and she took a step forward. Mino took the opportunity to grab her hand and bring her up on stage. What a way to make an entry. When Zoey got on stage, Mino spun her around. Zoey looked confused as to what was going on until Mino started to rap out the words to Flo Rida's "Sweet Like Sugar" verse.

Mino: Hey, I've got a mouth full of cavities.  
Sweet tooth, full of mama, like sugar to me.  
So my love with the lips, put a bug in the ear tone.  
Shawty gotta kiss, it's an emergency. Spit sprung for the taste, addicted to her gloss.

Daniel who was following suit with Mino and dancing with Jisoo also rapped the first verse.

Daniel: Won't smile this way, baby I rub it off.  
Put my tongue in your face A little mistletoe, sippin Gram I A.  
Im a fan all day.  
Do me that favor, cuz I like your flavor.  
My manage behavior; Im into your major.  
Sweeter so flavor, thats good for this player.

Mike grabbed Jennie's hand and on their way to the stage, he also rapped:

Mike: My hood, now and later, throw back like a pager.  
Pretty much, youre givin me a sugar rush.  
Lil mama, give me high blood pressure when you blush.  
Lips feel soft as a feather when we touch, Shawty thats whats up.

The three couples on stage dancing and the guys twirling the girls around got me smiling. And surprisingly, I was dancing my way on stage as I sang the chorus. I spun around and I found myself at the centre of the stage while the three couples surrounding me in a circle.

Me: My lips like sugar [x2]  
This candy got you sprung [x2]  
So call me your sugar [x2]  
You love you some [x2]  
I'm sweet like

All girls: Da double dee double di [x3]  
I'm sweet like Da double dee double di [x2]  
I'm sweet like Da double dee double di  
Sugar

Seunghoon came up on stage and joined me at the centre. I smiled at him as he held my hand. We danced together as he rapped out the second verse.

Down stage, Seungyoon paired with Lisa, Jinwoo with Christine and TOP with Rosé. Everyone had a partner and it was so fun. We faced our partner as we danced. The ladies every now and then will be twirled around and the fact that we all did that simultaneously was awesome.

The other guys continued to rap out Flo Rida's verses while we could all sing out the chorus together.

All: My lips like sugar (x2)  
This candy got you sprung (x2)  
So call me your sugar (x2)  
You love you some (x2)  
I'm sweet like Da double dee double di (x3)  
I'm sweet like Da double dee double di (x2)  
I'm sweet like Da double dee double di  
Sugar

I was staring straight into Seunghoon's eyes as he and I breathed out heavily right after we finished the song. Our foreheads touched as we looked at each other and for a moment, all I could see and feel was him until a loud round of applause brought me back from my little world. I quickly broke away from Seunghoon.

Onlookers in the lobby had surrounded the stage to watch us perform when all we did was just have fun and dance on stage. Bright lights from people's phones blinked before my eyes and there were loud screams from the fans. For a moment, I felt a little confused until I slowly took it all in.

"Wow, what's happening?" Zoey asked. I looked to my side and I hadn't noticed that she was standing next to me.

"Looks like we just performed in front of a crowd without realising it," I answered.

I looked at everyone else on stage and also those those who danced down stage. They also looked as confused.

"Isn't this where we all take a bow?" Seunghoon asked as he came to whisper in my ear.

"Ya, we really should," I answered.

"We should do what?" Mike asked as he came to stand next to Seunghoon.

"Take a bow," I said.

Zoey who stood next to me held my hand and I saw Mino standing next to her also take hold of her's. I felt Seunghoon's fingers enclose around my hand. Mike also took Seunghoon's and Jennie's hand. And the rest of the others who were down stage came and joined us in the joining of hands. Then all together we bowed at the same time and we received an even bigger round of applause.

"Well, this just got interesting," said TOP. Somehow, I still managed to get him through the loud noise of the audience who kept on cheering.

"It's about to get even more interesting," said Mike. "Look who's in the crowd."

The way Mike said it made me think of Collins and my heart skipped a beat as I looked at the crowd. Was Collins here? But then my heart settled when I saw who was making their way to us through the crowd. Lee.

"I told her to come here," I said with a smile and I broke away from the others to head to Lee.

When I got down from the stage, Lee had already gotten away from the screaming fans. And the surprising thing was that I hadn't noticed that the security had come in to handle the crowd from getting up on stage. Noticing the commotion, I quickly grabbed Lee's hand and pulled her with me up on stage.

"Well, you guys sure know who to stir a crowd," said Lee as she looked behind her. "I even had to warn the security before I could even get here."

"Lee, you're here!" came Daniel and the next thing I know, all four Toxins had quickly surrounded Lee into a hug.

"Goodness!" Lee couldn't believe all the love she was getting that she couldn't help but smile. "I haven't been gone forever, you know?"

"We just missed you, that's all," said Zoey, they were all still hugging her. "You're usually with us but these past days you haven't."

"You're right and I miss all of you too. Been caught up with work. And now, you have all given me a much bigger mess to clean."

"Does Collins know?" Christine asked as they all broke away from hugging Lee.

"He would've called by now," Lee answered. "Yang Hyun-suk would've done the same, but so far, no calls from the grim reapers yet."

"When you put it like that you make it sound like a bad thing," said Mike as he sulked.

"It is!" Lee emphasised through the loud noise of the crowd behind her. "You better have a reason for all this. Sam?"

Immediately Lee focused on me, the other Toxins did the same. I hated such moments when everyone looks at you just because you have to give an explanation. For now, I couldn't blame them.

"We've a lot to tell you, Lee," I started.

"That's true," said TOP as he came from behind to stand next to me.

"How did you even allow all of this to happen, TOP?" Lee asked as she looked at him. "And you ended up joining in the fun and turned this place into your own dance hall."

"Can you hear us out first?" Zoey asked. "Because all this just didn't start from YG."

Lee had a horrified look on her face as she looked at Zoey. "What do you mean?"

"It all started yesterday," said Mike.

"And....?" Lee was waiting for someone to go on with the explanation until.....

"I was in Sam's and Zoey's closet," came Seunghoon who came to to stand on my other side.

Lee looked shocked. First of all, because of Seunghoon's sudden appearance and second, because of what he said.

"You were in what now!" Lee asked, looking like she was going to faint.

"I told you it was a long story," I said. "Why don't we just talk about this over lunch? We're really starved."

"No, wait, hold up," said Lee as she held her hand up. "How WINNER comes into the picture, I now understand, but what about BlackPink? Don't tell me someone else was hiding in the boy's closet too!"

"That would have been nice," said Mike with a stupid grin on his face. I threw him a look and the smile fell right away.

"No, we met them today," said Lisa as she came to stand beside Seunghoon and looked at him. "You hid in the girl's closet?"

"It was a surprise," said Seunghoon.

"That's something," said Jennie as she rolled her eyes and came to join us with the rest of BlackPink and WINNER.

"Don't blame me for being a fan," said Seunghoon.

"I told him we should've come up with another surprise," said Seungyoon.

"Well, he barely listens to us anyway," said Jinwoo.

I looked at Lee and realised that her face was losing colour as she looked at the number of people standing before her. Now that she knows she wasn't just dealing with The Toxins but now BlackPink and WINNER, it was a lot to take in.

"I think I'm going to faint," said Lee. "This is just too much even your managers will explode."

"That's why you shouldn't worry about a thing," I said. "We all know that we are in trouble and there is simply nothing we can do about it. We all wanted to hang out and even if we were to do it in secret, they would still find out anyway."

Lee scratched her head. "You're right on that one. There's nothing we can do but feel their warth when they find out."

"As long as we had fun today, I've no regrets," said Mino.

Everyone else apart from Lee agreed. Even I had to admit, we had fun and we had only just started. We had a lot of things to do in Times Square and somehow the anxiety was killing me.

After the crowd had cleared away from the stage, we were now back to the plan we had had before. And that was having lunch. We were on our way to the food court when Lee asked:

"Who came up with that hash tag on Twitter?"

"Zoey did," I answered as I pointed at Zoey walking beside me.

"What's wrong with it?" Zoey asked.

"You put up #BTW," said Lee. "Won't other people apart from your fans find it odd when they find that on the trending list and ask 'what could possibly be a by a way thing?' BTW does mean by the way."

"I don't think it's that bad," said Rosé. "I mean we couldn't make a long hash tag with the group's names so, putting it in abbreviations seemed okay."

"I didn't like the BTW thing though," said Mike.

"Well, you should have maybe put WTB or TBW," said Lee. "BTW is already taken."

"You can eat me later but that was all I could think of to prevent our managers from finding out about us quickly," said Zoey. "Not everyone knew about it before we did our little performance. I bet others still don't know up to now."

"BTW is now trending number 2 by the way," said Lee. "I don't even know how I realised that BTW was even you three all together. At first I was a little confused that that was trending until I realised there was nothing familiar trending on Twitter related to you guys."

"I think Zoey did good," I said. "Even I would have thought of a name for this little group that wouldn't capture so much attention from the normal human perspective."

"Is Sam calling me smart?" Zoey asked as she smirked. "Most people don't say that about me."

"I think she is," said TOP.

"Yay!" Zoey clapped her hands with glee.

"You're smart now but you'll be a jellyfish later," jeered Mike.

Zoey stopped clapping and she looked at Mike who was walking in front of her. Her excited demeanor changed in an instant to killer mode.

"Did Mike just say jellyfish?" Lee asked. "Where did that come from?"

"That's another long story," said Jisoo.

Before Lee could say anything else, Zoey let out a war cry and immediately she did, Mike took it on cue to run for his life. He ran ahead towards the open food court and Zoey was right behind him.

"I'm going to kill you, Mike!" Zoey called after him.

"You better catch me first!" Mike called back.

The rest of us paused as we looked at Zoey chase Mike down and a few onlookers stopped to us see the sequel before them. I smiled. Those two would never stop fighting no matter what.

"I was about to say, my day is so full of stories," said Lee and she gave a little laugh as she looked towards the food court. "But it looks like it's full of drama too."

"I hope she doesn't sting him," said Jinwoo.

"Do you think our managers would ever make BTW a real thing?" Seunghoon asked, his eyes still focused on the two Toxins running around the food court.

"I hope they do," said Jennie. "It would be so much fun."

"The fans are already loving it," said Mino. "I don't see why they wouldn't make it a real thing."

"I hope so too," said Christine.

"Come on, let's not watch these guys run around, I'm starving," said Daniel. "And we got a movie to watch on the largest screen in the world."

"Did you just say the largest screen in the world?" Lee asked with a surprised look on her face.

"Ya, I did." Daniel smiled.

As we made our way towards the court, the thing about BTW started spinning in my mind. As much as that seemed like a good idea, the others were forgetting that despite dealing with two difficult managers, us The Toxins weren't going to be here for long and there may be a lot more other issues which I wasn't ready to deal with at the moment.

I didn't want to burst everyone's bubble because they were all in a good mood, so I kept all these worries to myself. Hopefully this time I might be wrong about my thoughts, except on the part where other issues out of the blue may arise.

But the other thing that worried me was that my premonitions in most cases, were never wrong.


	6. Chapter 5: BTW (BlackPink, The Toxins and WINNER)

Hanging out at Times Square was super duper fun yesterday. The positive reactions we got from the fans sent us trending all over Twitter within hours and soon, everyone got to know that BTW meant BlackPink, The Toxins and WINNER.

But that didn't matter. The three groups together with Lee and TOP had a ton of fun stuff to do at Times Square soon after we had lunch. We first went to watch a movie on the largest screen in the world, which was amazing. Then we went and had fun at the "I Like Dalgi Children's Theme Park", meant for little kids. But hey, who says grown ups can't have a little fun too? Don't worry, we weren't actually playing on the swings or anything. We actually played around with the adorable kids.

There were plenty of open outdoor spaces like the ecology park, a fountain and a rooftop garden that we visited. We even took group pictures and selfies with the beautiful nature around us. And we managed to get pictures with a few fans too.

The time we were done having fun at Times Square was in the evening and it was completely unbelievable when we stepped out into the parking lot and found three black SUV cars, for each of the three groups waiting to pick us up. What made the scene even more dramatic yet terrifying, was that our two managers were there, waiting for us. They had received the message through social media alright and they didn't look too happy that we had all met and decided to hang out. It was surprising to them that we had all met "by coincidence." The rest of us never said a word about how everything came to be. Especially with WINNER visiting The Toxins the previous day, of course.

As much as the managers kept their cool and didn't say a word afterwards meant they weren't really mad at all and we managed to drive away from Times Square without any complaints. I knew my plan would work but I also knew we were in for a serious talk from our two managers after they take this all in.

Right now, this very morning, I was bending over, tying my shoelaces and wondering what they could possibly want to talk to the three groups about as we meet with them. Collins told us a few minutes ago during breakfast that he and Yang Hyun-suk want the three groups to go to YG and talk. I hope it isn't that serious because yesterday, they didn't seem so mad at all. But why was I so worried? I couldn't figure out what was bothering me and I just couldn't take it.

I stood up straight after tying my shoelaces and I noticed Zoey approach me as she came out of the bathroom.

"Do you think they are mad?" Zoey asked as she stood a few feet away from me.

"You're worried, aren't you?" I asked.

"Aren't you?" Zoey folded her arms.

I sighed. If Zoey could be as worried as I was, the rest of The Toxins were too.

"I am," I said. "It's pretty troublesome that they would want us all to meet at YG."

"I thought you said your plan would work."

"In some way, it did, because they would have been so furious at us, but they weren't."

"Do you think they would want to talk about this BTW thing?"

I felt like slapping my forehead because I realised I was such a complete idiot. Of course. BTW. Now that Zoey mentioned it, it all made sense. The managers would probably want to talk about BTW because as far as the three groups meeting "by coincidence" was concerned, they had completely brushed it off.

"Ya, you're right," I said. "They obviously want to talk about that."

"Do you think they would want to make it a real thing?" Zoey was getting anxious.

"I would hold that thought for a while if I were you and see what the managers have to say."

Zoey raised an eyebrow at me. "You're worried that they wouldn't agree, aren't you?"

I shrugged. She read my mind really well. "I can't lie. I thought about it yesterday and now that you bought up the BTW thing, I realise it's what's been bothering me the whole time."

I sat down on my bed as my mind kept spinning around the issue. I shouldn't have told Zoey how I felt about all this but I had to let it out somehow.

"You know, you should have given us a heads up about it, Sam," said Zoey as she also sat on her bed facing me.

"Gosh, you really should have seen the looks on all of your faces when we were having fun yesterday. I just couldn't burst your bubble and tell you whats likely to happen to BTW. We all weren't going to enjoy ourselves when it really mattered so I kept quiet. I for one even forgot about it too."

"Ya, you're right not to have brought it up or I would've killed you."

"Like you almost did to Mike?" I smirked.

"Mike is annoying sometimes," said Zoey as she expressed her irritation with her hands as though they were bear claws. "You could scratch his eyes out."

"You've been planning to do that ever since we became best friends and he knew the essence of being annoying around you."

"You're right. I should burn him instead."

I laughed. "The drama between you two never gets old."

"And what about the drama between you and Seunghoon?" Zoey's eyebrows were raised and she had a crooked smile on her face.

"Don't even go there," I warned as I pointed a finger at her.

"Sorry, but just so you know, all the guys on social media were kind of jealous when he posted that pic of you and him together."

"Pff! That's not true." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you can ask Seungri and TOP who made a comment on Instagram last night."

I blushed and at the same time felt so confused. Zoey had a silly smile on her face and I couldn't tell whether she did that to intimidate me or there was some other hidden agenda.

"You weren't on Instagram last night, were you?" she asked this time with a surprised look on her face.

"I was," I said as I stared at the ceiling to avoid her eyes."But only for a little while."

"Or you weren't really there at all. If you did, you wouldn't have that look on your face."

I sighed in surrender. "Fine. You caught me. I logged out of Instagram because I wanted to. Besides, I knew all the notifications I was bound to receive were going to be endless, so I did what I had to do."

Zoey shook her head. "You really surprise me how much you aren't really a fan of social media when most of our peers are."

"You know me already, Zoey. I like social media when it's necessary."

"And hate it when you hit the headlines. Ya, I know you very well."

"Okay, enough. What happened on Instagram last night?"

Zoey had an excited look on her face that for a moment, I was surprised that she was ever even worried about us meeting with the managers at YG. Something hot was cooking about Seunghoon and I being called a couple. And it could clearly show all over her face.

"There was a debate last night whether you made a compatible girlfriend for Seungyoon," said Zoey as she excitedly bit her lip.

I shook my head. "And?"

Zoey folded her arms, still smiling. "Some people thought you and Seunghoon made a lovely couple, but others, mostly guys, didn't."

"Hold that thought. This wouldn't have come up unless someone said something about the two of us after Seunghoon posted that picture."

"Don't look at me." Zoey looked the other way. "I didn't say anything."

I snapped my fingers. "Seunghoon."

"Bingo!" Zoey clapped her hands.

"Gosh, what's wrong with him?" I rubbed my forehead feeling like I might just develop a headache.

"He's a fan. Is that so wrong?"

"Well, he hid in our closet."

"That was just the closet. Even I would do that for my bias."

"Wow!" I leaned back in surprise. "Did you just say bias?"

"Ya, why?"

"Looks like we just developed the k-pop culture where we refer to our favourite celebrity, whom we consider perfect as our bias."

Zoey thought for a moment over what I said as she looked at the floor and then back at me. "Mmmm, I guess you're right."

"But anyway, Seunghoon hiding in my closet wasn't the only thing that he has done."

"What do you mean? You got to meet Seunghoon for the first time when he jumped out of our closet. What else could he possibly have done before that?"

"We had a few encounters before though I never knew it was him."

Zoey's eyes bulged out in surprise. "He was stalking you?"

"Not really. But I can say he was. Just a little. If he was a full time stalker, he would've been doing so everyday."

"When did that happen and when were you ever going to tell me?"

"I wanted to but I kept it to myself. And when other issues started to arise, especially with Jehan, I even forgot that I even had a stalker."

"Jehan. Don't remind me," said Zoey as she rolled her eyes.

"Ya, I shouldn't. But now you know. And for the record, don't tell anybody."

"My lips on this one are sealed. I won't tell anyone, not even G-Dragon."

I looked at Zoey with a questioning look. "Why would you mention him in all of this?"

Zoey quickly got up from the bed. "Pretend I never said that."

I quickly stood up and Zoey made a beeline for the door. I followed her and just before she could hold the door knob, I reached her, held her by the hair and pulled her back.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Zoey yelled as she held the back of her head from where I pulled at her hair.

"Zoey, you're going to tell me right now what you mean," I said, pulling her hair even more. "Or else, I'll pull your hair out and you will not think of dying your own hair pink in the next ten years."

"Ouch! Sam! You're hurting me!" Zoey complained. "I was just joking around."

"You're lying."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Come on, Zoey. You personally had a talk with G-Dragon, didn't you?"

I felt Zoey pause as she stopped struggling to get away. "How did you know?"

"I know because I know. So, what did you two talk about?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why?"

"Because it's confidential. Owwwuch!" I made sure I tightened my fist even more under her hair pulling at her roots. "That really hurts!"

The door in front of us suddenly flew open. Lee came in the room and paused upon seeing the scene in front of her.

"Is it me or is Sam trying to braid your hair?" Lee asked Zoey with an unbelievable look on her face.

"Yes, I was," I said as I let go of Zoey's hair and Zoey blew out a sigh of relief. "Turns out, I'm not that good at it at all."

"No, you aren't," said Zoey as she massaged her scalp from where I had pulled her hair and she looked at me with a frown.

"You can tell me about your drama later," said Lee. "The car's here and we have to go."

Zoey whined as though she was about to cry. "Do we really have to go now?" she asked.

"I know it feels like you're going for a trial, but you don't have a choice."

"Lee's right," I said. "We do have to hear our managers out. Though we all know it won't be pretty."

"Fine," said Zoey. "Before we get there, I better prepare for the worst."

"Think positive," said Lee. "You can never know what might happen."

"No, Sam's already spoiled my mood with her own premonitions."

"And she did the right thing," said Lee with a smile.

I playfully rolled my eyes and didn't say a word as I walked out of the room with Zoey and Lee following suit. I found the other Toxins waiting by the elevator. They also looked worried.

"You all look like you're going to a funeral," said Zoey.

"And you were sounding like your hair's caught fire a minute ago," said Mike, folding his arms and looking at Zoey.

"I fell on the floor." Zoey looked at Mike with wide eyes.

"Never mind. Just like you guys, we are also worried," I said.

"Where is Collins?" Daniel asked.

"He left soon after breakfast," Lee answered.

The five of us turned to look at Lee. "What?" we said at the same time.

"He left early," said Lee, shrugging her shoulders

"Why? Is he really that mad at us that he wants to go ahead to prepare a death trap?" Zoey asked.

"Death trap? Seriously, Zoey?" Christine asked.

Zoey shrugged. "Couldn't think of any other way to say it."

"Okay, first of all," said Lee grabbing our attention. "There is no death trap. Secondly, after we came back from Times Square, I personally talked to Collins and he wasn't mad at you."

"Then do you know why he wants BlackPink, WINNER and us to meet?" Mike asked.

"That, he couldn't say."

"I thought you were his assistant," said Daniel.

"You know, Collins doesn't tell me everything. He treats me like I'm part of you guys too."

"Welcome to the monkey side," said Zoey as she rolled her eyes and scratched her head.

"Ya, I now know how that feels. But right now we better go."

Christine pressed the button to the elevator and when we all got in, we headed downstairs and went in the black SUV waiting for us. There were a few fans who stood outside the hotel premises and for a moment, it felt a little awkward that they were here in the nearly hours of the morning. I know it's normal for every fan to do so but today I couldn't help but feel that something was a bit odd about it. Then I remembered BTW.

We got to YG right on time and immediately we stepped into the lobby, we found all four members of WINNER heading for the elevator. Looked like they had also arrived a few seconds earlier.

"Hey, guys!" Zoey greeted loudly so that she could grab their attention.

"Zoey!" Mino turned around and had a huge smile on his face. "Hey, guys."

"Hi," the four of us responded and not in a way people would like to hear.

"You all look down," said Seungyoon. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing really," I said. "We just don't like how this meeting is going to turn out."

The four members of WINNER all muttered at the same time.

"Guess we're not the only ones feeling that way," said Jinwoo.

"Are BlackPink already here?" Mike asked.

"The receptionist says they are waiting in the conference room," said Seunghoon.

"Okay," said Daniel as he rubbed his hands together. "Let's go meet our fate."

"If this comes out as a death trap, I'm going to say I told you so," said Zoey.

"There will be no such thing," said Christine. "You're just exaggerating what might come up that we won't like at all so you refer to it as a death trap."

"And you're making it sound ten times worse than it already is, Zoey," said Seungyoon, as he pouted his lip and scratched his head.

"Wonder where that came from," said Mino.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," said Lee as she pulled out her phone from her purse. "You guys go ahead and I'll give your managers a call that you're here."

"You aren't coming with us?" I asked.

"I might have joined the 'monkey's club' but I'm not going to be there when they drop a bombshell."

"See, death trap!" Zoey emphasised.

"Zoey!" everyone muttered loudly that Zoey quickly covered her mouth and looked away.

"Look, whether they are going to say what we might not like, a death trap as Zoey likes to put it. Or not, you'll be fine," said Lee. "We all have gone through this where you never like the decisions the managers have to make."

"Please, don't remind us," said Mike as he rubbed his forehead.

"Either way," Lee continued, "you better go. You don't want to be late."

"Won't you wish us luck?" I asked.

"You don't need it when you already know what's going to happen."

I gave Lee a sad smile and turned towards the elevator. I started to feel the way I always felt whenever you had to hear a decision that might just cost something in your life. Like suicide.

We started our way towards the elevator when all of the sudden, I stopped when I realised that I didn't have my phone with me. I checked the pockets of my jumper and my jean trousers. Nothing.

"Gosh, I think I left my phone in the car," I said. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up."

I quickly ran out of the lobby as the others made their way into the elevator with Lee. When I got to the parking lot, I made my way towards the SUV we had driven in and luckily, I met the driver who was almost about to leave the car. I told him about my phone and he unlocked the doors for me so that I could check for it inside.

When I got to the passenger's seat, I saw the phone in between the seats I sat on with Zoey on our way here. I got in the car and sat in just to get it. When I did, I checked to see if I had any missed calls or messages. There were two missed calls and a message. I opened my inbox to read the message and it was one short sentence with only four words. I looked at the message again not believing what I read. There was only one logical explanation to this and I was going to find out why.

Just as I was about to get out, I jumped in fright when I saw who was standing right outside the car. Seunghoon.

"Seriously, I can sue you for stalking me," I said as I held my chest. My heart was beating so fast. I never even heard him coming.

"Just came to check on you," he said with a smile.

"You're not my bodyguard that you've to follow me around," I said as I came out of the car and banged the door shut. "How did you get here? I never heard you coming."

"Maybe I have kitty attributes like you." Seunghoon raised his eyebrows up and down and leaned towards me.

I blushed. "You know about that?"

"Everyone knows you have cat feet, Sam. No one ever hears you coming unless you want them to. Zoey once mentioned that in an interview, I remember."

"Never mind. I just came to get my phone and you didn't have to follow me."

"Looks like I did the right thing because you look like you're about to punch something right now and I'll be the one to control your anger."

"If I wanted to, can you be my punching bag?" I folded my arms.

"You wouldn't even if you wanted to." He smirked and I rolled my eyes.

"You're right. I don't want to be sued by YG for breaking your face."

"And because you're a lady and you don't have to punch anyone unless it's necessary. You might have punched that school mate of yours but that was years ago. So, what's up? It looked like you just received a bad message."

"It isn't a bad message. Just something that needs a little sorting out. Come on, you'll see."

I quickly started my way back to the YG building and Seunghoon was up to pace with me with his long legs.

"Can you at least tell me what's going on?" Seunghoon asked when we finally got in the elevator and he pressed the button leading to the floor to the conference room.

"Nope, if I tell you it won't have that wonderful dramatic effect," I answered.

"What dramatic effect?" Seunghoon looked me in the eye with a curious look on his face as he came closer. I took a warning step back.

"If you hadn't followed me to the parking lot, you would know what I mean and you would be trying to recover from the little surprise you'll find in the conference room."

"What surprise?"

The elevator stopped and the doors flew open. Just as Seunghoon and I turned to look down the hall, there was Zoey coming out hurriedly through the door of one of the rooms, into the hall and running towards the elevator upon seeing us. Seunghoon and I stepped out.

"Zoey, what's wrong?" Seunghoon asked when she reached us and she had a horrified look on her face.

"You will not believe what's going on," said Zoey.

"I already have a guess," I said.

"You know?" Zoey grew shocked as she looked at me.

"Yep. And we are going to sort this out right now."

I made my way towards the conference room. Seunghoon and Zoey follow.

"What's going on? Can someone please tell me?" Seunghoon asked.

"You're about to find out," said Zoey.

When we reached the conference room, I took hold of the door knob, turned it and opened the door. The conference room was quiet and there was a weird aura that I felt immediately I stepped in. I didn't have to ask why.

In the conference room was a huge round mahogany table. It's polished surface shining bright under the tiny light bulbs embedded in the roof. There were black office chairs around the table. The other Toxins, BlackPink and WINNER were all seated at one half end of the rounded table. When they saw me enter the room, the look on their faces was so worrying that I grew horrified though I did my best not to show it.

"Sam," said Mike and I stopped him short before he could say anything else with my hand raised.

I looked to the opposite half end of the table from where the others sat and I noticed that one of the chairs faced the other way. Someone was sitting there and had turned their backs to us facing the wall.

"You don't have to act all high and mighty, you know?" I said to the person facing the wall. "I know it's you, GD."

G-Dragon quickly turned around on the chair and he had that smile on his face that was somewhat annoying and yet so cute that my heart almost melted.

"Hi, Sam," said G-Dragon as he leaned his elbows on the table and his hands under his chin. "How did you know it was me?"

"The message you sent me wasn't too hard to figure out that you would be here," I answered as I held up my phone.

"Huh?" Seunghoon looked surprised at seeing G-Dragon and also confused at what I said. "What did it say?"

"Just a simple, 'hi, are you coming?' was all," I said as I looked at Seunghoon.

"Wait," said Lisa who sat with the others at the other end, looking at me also with a confused look on her face. "You knew just like that? Through his message?"

"It felt simple and straightforward. For all we know, only BTW were supposed to be here to meet with our managers. And I for one didn't make any breakfast date with G-Dragon today."

"Smart," said G-Dragon as he winked at me."Looks like you're really referring to your little group as BTW then."

"I don't have a choice." I raised my eyebrow at him. "With you around, I just have to rub it in your face."

"We will see about that. Because we're going to have a serious talk about BTW."

"I had a feeling you would be on the managers' side the second we came here," said Mino.

"Ya, I know I'm a threat," said G-Dragon as he grinned. "I did say all this was going to have consequences if you guys keep on meeting each other."

"If you mean us getting into trouble with our managers, you're sadly mistaken," said Jennie. "They weren't even mad at all because all they know is that we all met by coincidence."

"You're right." G-Dragon stood up from his seat. "They aren't mad, just yet."

I didn't like his last sentence and something told me he had something up his sleeve.

"We wouldn't be having this meeting if it wasn't for you, am I right?" I asked.

The rest of the BTW crew grew confused and started muttering. And I could tell their eyes were flying from G-Dragon to me, wondering who would say something next.

"You know me so well," said G-Dragon as he stood up and came around the table to get to me.

"I just know how the human mindset works," I said. "I don't really know you at all."

"Hold up," said Zoey who stood beside me as she looked at G-Dragon. "So, you're saying, you called for this meeting to get us in trouble?"

"That's a simple way of putting it," said G-Dragon as he smiled at Zoey.

"Told you we'll experience a death trap," Zoey muttered loud enough for everyone to hear as she went to stand beside the others at the other end of the table.

"But is he going to do that?" Rosé asked. "He will need a lot of evidence to show that we all didn't really meet by coincidence."

There was silence in the room until Daniel and Mike murmured "oh no" at the same time. I knew that just like me, they had already figured out what G-Dragon was planning to do.

"He doesn't need any evidence to trap us," said Mike.

"What do you mean?" Jisoo who sat beside him asked.

"The managers would believe him if talks about what happened the day before yesterday at the hotel," said Daniel.

"The time WINNER came to see us," said Christine as the realisation settled in.

"And they would take his word because he has Daesung and Seungri to back him up," I said.

"And also because he's our senior," said Zoey as she folded her arms. "That's how he even managed to set this meeting up in the first place."

"Well, you Toxins did your homework," said G-Dragon.

"Why do I feel like I'm in court?" Seungyoon asked.

"It's because we are and we have to take defence," I said.

"Can't we just settle this matter somehow?" Jinwoo asked.

"Why do I feel I just entered an episode of Suits?" Mike asked.

I turned to look at Mike and I wasn't the only who did. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"What? I watch Suits from time to time."

"What will it take so that you won't tell our managers?" Seunghoon asked.

G-Dragon smiled. He had us right where he wanted. I was so not liking this right now. When I thought we would be dealing with our managers, we actually were meant to deal with G-Dragon instead.

"I'm glad you brought that up because I was thinking of the same thing," said G-Dragon.

"What do you want?" I asked.

G-Dragon looked at me as he bit his lip. I looked straight at him in the eye wondering why he was doing all of this. I had a hunch, but I had to be sure of it before I came to any conclusions.

"To make things clear with all of you," said G-Dragon. "I might have brought up this idea of a meeting in the first place concerning BTW, but the managers had been thinking about doing the same thing."

"That still doesn't change the fact that all this was your idea," said Seungyoon.

"You're right. And just to give you a heads up, the managers aren't going to let BTW be a group."

"We already know that," said Zoey. "We all had a feeling that it would come to this."

"And we will not allow it," said Rosé.

"Most of us are up for this idea and some of the fans too," said Mino.

"That's the problem," said G-Dragon. "You guys aren't going to let it slide and this why I came here with a deal."

"You want us to agree or else you tell our managers everything," I said.

"All's fair in love and war." G-Dragon gave a huge smile. "You guys are stubborn and they might just agree to your whims. So just accept what they bring up and we can go and pretend we never even had this meeting."

"Come on," Christine complained. "As if BTW is even going to be an ongoing thing. The Toxins won't be here for long and you know it."

"Christine's right," said Lisa. "I don't think it's wrong if we make BTW temporarily."

"BTW is nothing but a collaborative group on my part," I said. "It's almost in the same way artists collaborate. Like the way The Toxins and BigBang did."

"I firmly agree with Sam," said Jisoo.

"We all do," said Seunghoon. "Just imagine what BTW can do."

"Who knows, we might just have our own show!" Zoey said excitedly.

"Which won't last long by the way," pointed out Mike.

"And it's going to attract a lot of media attention like it did yesterday," said Jinwoo.

"We might just make BTW involved in market promotions too," said Mino.

"That's being business minded and I like it," said Jennie.

"See, there's a lots of things BTW can do though it might only be for a short while," I said as I smirked looking at G-Dragon.

"Well, you guys can dream all you want but it isn't going to happen," said G-Dragon.

Upon saying that, the door to the conference room flew open. I turned to the door and coming in were the two managers and Lee. For a moment I grew silent with everyone else in the room due to their sudden presence. Those who were seated stood up.

I gulped. I hope the managers hadn't heard the entire conversation. Especially the part where G-Dragon was to get us in trouble by telling them the truth.

The two managers had their eyes on me at first and I felt they had finally figured what was going on. I wanted to break into a sweat when they looked at me. But I kept myself calm telling myself that I maybe over thinking and nothing is wrong.

"Good that you're all here," said Yang Hyun-suk. "We have a few things to discuss. Zoey, Seunghoon, Sam, Jiyong, take your seats, please. And everyone else too."

I have always hated it when managers have that serious tone in their voice that shook every cell in your body. I quickly took the chair in front of me and G-Dragon sat to my left and Seunghoon to my right. For some reason, I felt really uncomfortable sitting in between them. The others sat back down on their seats.

The two managers and Lee stood at the other end of the table and we all had our eyes on them. I started to silently tap my fingers on the polished wooden table as I bit my lower lip. I turned to look at the others and even though some were trying to put up a straight face, I could tell they were as nervous as I was.

"Everyone in here looks really tense," said Collins. "As though you weren't the ones laughing about yesterday at Time Square."

"Well, we all know why we are," I said as I looked at Collins. "And we know it's something serious."

"You're right, it is serious," said Yang Hyun-suk.

Zoey sighed loudly in frustration and everyone turned to look at her. "Please just say it already," she said. "'You created a huge mess yesterday, blah, blah, blah you weren't supposed to meet, blah, blah, blah and so BTW was just a one day thing.' Some of us just want to go back to the hotel and watch some K-drama to forget the horrible aftermath of this meeting."

The two managers chuckled at Zoey's response and I couldn't figure out why they found it so amusing when most of us in this room were grieving in the inside. That was so not cool.

"You never cease to amaze me, Zoey," said Yang Hyun-suk. "And you're right. This BTW thing was nothing but a one time thing."

"Here we go," muttered Rosé as she leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes in despair.

"But that doesn't mean we can't reconsider it," said Collins.

My ears perked up when Collins said the word "reconsider." And I bet the others were all attentive too. Could it be that they might just turn things around?

Seunghoon cleared his throat. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"We heard you outside the door discussing or rather debating about making BTW a real group thing even if it's just temporary," said Yang Hyun-suk.

"And as we stood by the door, we reconsidered giving BTW a shot," said Collins.

"For real?" I couldn't believe my ears.

"Yes, Sam. For real," said Yang Hyun-suk. "But don't get your hopes up because we have to go through further scrutiny about this decision."

I smiled. Even if they were saying we shouldn't get our hopes up, it was quiet clear they were up for the idea themselves and that meant BTW was a go.

There was an exciting feeling in the air now that the whole BTW crew were all rejuvenated by the exciting news. We were all smiling to ourselves and already I could see that Zoey and Lisa who sat next to each other were ready to clap their hands but they hid them under the table so that the managers wouldn't notice as they clapped silently.

"Are you sure about this?" G-Dragon asked.

I turned to my other side and I realised that the whole time we had been talking to our managers, I had been so oblivious that GD was sitting next to me. Maybe it's because right now, he felt like a traitor and his presence right now, didn't matter.

"You heard them when they talked to you about it," said Yang Hyun-suk. "In such cases, it's good to be business minded and see how all this goes."

"So, you all agree to this, right?" Mike asked with his eyebrow raised just to be sure.

"To be perfectly clear, yes, we agree," said Collins.

"And so even if we tried to object to it you would refuse us to do so because the decision came from you, right?" I asked.

This time it was me, or I can say, BTW, trapping G-Dragon. G-Dragon turned to look at me and he knew it. The managers' plan in the first place was not to make BTW an official group and if we refused, they would G-Dragon would tell them our secret and there would be no BTW. And due to the condition G-Dragon had laid out for us in the first place, there was simply no need for him to reveal our little secret anymore. All he told us to do was to agree to whatever the managers' decision was and we were doing just that. And there was no going back on his word. Look who's laughing now.

"Of course you should agree because whatever we decide is an order," said Yang Hyun-suk.

"Yep, an order is an order," said Mino with a huge grin on his face.

"I really thought they wouldn't make BTW official," said Jisoo. "Now that it is, I agree."

"We all agree," said Daniel.

"Hold your horses, people," said G-Dragon. "It hasn't been made official."

"But just because it hasn't, doesn't mean that it will," said Seunghoon as he looked over at G-Dragon with a victory smile on his face. That made me smile even more.

"Okay, so that's settled then," said Collins. "We will discuss for now and see what the seniors have to say. Once they agree, we will begin with the paper work and make BTW official."

"Of course they will agree," said Rosé. "Who wouldn't?"

I noticed that most of the eyes on the table especially from BTW flew to G-Dragon. Mine also did the same. Luckily, the managers never noticed a thing. But Lee did when she looked at me and I grinned.

"Okay, then," said Yang Hyun-suk as he rubbed his hands. "Now that's been taken care of, you may go but, with one condition."

There was dead silence in the room when Yang Hyun-suk mentioned he had one condition. My heart started to race.

"Before we make BTW official, may I advise that you three groups don't meet each other too often," said Yang Hyun-suk. "We don't want to raise a lot of people's hopes thinking that the group might be official so you better keep it low for a while. Is that good?"

"Fine by me," said Seungyoon. "As long as we can ask for your permission from time to time."

"That's fair enough," said Collins. "But today, you won't go and hang out after this because already there are too many of your fans lurking around hoping for BTW to be official and they can use anything just to let other people believe so."

"So you want to crush their hopes and later surprise them when you make the group official," I said while I nodded my head. "I had to admit, that's a pretty good strategy."

"Then if all is well and good, we will be leaving then," said Yang Hyun-suk. "We will keep you updated and not a word on social media."

I stood up from my seat and everyone else did the same. As our managers made their way for the door with Lee I couldn't help but smile and just as they were about to walk out, I stopped them.

"Wait," I said and the two managers turned to look at me.

"What is it, Sam?" Collins asked.

"Thank you," I beamed and I bowed. "Kamsahabnida (감사합니다)."

The rest of BTW also bowed and also said thank you. The two managers smiled at our lovely gesture.

"If it weren't for that I might just declare BTW official today," said Yang Hyun-suk.

"You would?" Zoey, Jennie, Christine and Jisoo asked at the same time. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"No." Yang Hyun-suk smiled even more and he walked out of the room with Collins. Lee waited a few seconds by the door until the managers disappeared down the hall.

"Congratulations, BTW," she said quietly. She looked really happy. "You did it!"

"Another music collaboration for The Toxins," I said with a smile.

"And triple more of the fun," said Mike.

"Now that I totally agree," said Daniel as he gave his brother a high five.

"This is like the best news ever," said Zoey. "Thank you so much, Sam for making me feel like all hope was lost when actually things turned out alright."

"I don't think you should be thanking Sam for that," said Jinwoo.

"Jinwoo's right," I said. "We wouldn't have been able to get our managers to reconsider if it wasn't for G-Dragon."

The room grew silent as all eyes were on Jiyong. I looked at him through the corner of my eye and smiled.

"I've to admit you played me very well," said G-Dragon with a look of defeat on his face. "Congrats."

"All this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't tried to trap us in the first place," said Seunghoon.

"I knew there was a reason for G-Dragon to have called for this meeting in the first place," said Lee. She shook her head in disappointment as she looked at G-Dragon.

"You knew?" Christine asked.

"I got to find out when I went to see the managers."

"But everything turned in our favour in the end," said Lisa. "So, I'm not even that mad at him at all."

"You just got lucky because the managers happen to be eavesdropping on our conversation at the wrong time," said G-Dragon.

"At the right time on our part," said Mino.

"I'll just say, I'm mad at you, GD. But since you did us this huge favour, I forgive you," said Zoey as she smiled.

"Thank you, G-Dragon!" BlackPink said all together. "We love you!"

"Well, you guys can tell me how this all went down from the beginning, but right now, you all have to go," said Lee. "And I'm supposed to see to it that you all aren't going to go into the same car."

"Don't worry, we won't disobey our managers after all this," I said. "Can I have a talk with G-Dragon alone, please?"

Everyone else started to slowly step out of the room and I made sure to say bye to BlackPink and WINNER. When everyone had left, Lee closed the door behind her. It was only G-Dragon and I.

"I'm mad at you," I started.

"I know," he replied. "Sam....."

"Save it." I held my hand up to silence him. "You know, you reminded me of all those times you and I used to get into a fight and it seems you're bringing it all back. I thought we were past that but now it's like you want to bring up a war again."

"I'm not trying to bring up a war."

"You put us in a horrible position and we had to fight against you. That my friend, is called a war."

"Look, Sam, you've already won and I admit that trying to rattle you out to our managers was wrong of me."

I folded my arms. "Great! You realise it now when everything backfired on you and you didn't get what you want."

G-Dragon looked at me and me at him. Right now, I was fuming and I felt like I was going to burst. I never knew he would turn on us like this and it hurt me like a stab in the heart.

"You're right. I realise it now because I didn't get what I want. But I want us to forget that all this ever happened."

"You know, the others might forgive you because of the outcome but I am so mad that you could ever do this just because you don't like it when we went out to hang out with WINNER yesterday."

"If you're trying to say that I'm jealous, then yes, I am."

I nodded my head. What I thought from the beginning the time I came to the conference room was true. He was jealous. Not just of The Toxins hanging out with WINNER but of Seunghoon and I.

"You know you and I can only be friends and that relationship can't go any further than that. It's the same thing with Seunghoon. And until you get over it, I suggest you find a way for me to forgive you or this friendship might just go down the rocks."

I headed for the door without a second thought and I didn't even get to look at him one. As soon as I found myself in the hall heading for the elevator, there stood Zoey, waiting.

"I'm guessing you put him in his place," said Zoey as I approached her.

"I sure hope so," I said with a sigh. I felt like I had just arm wrestled with a body builder and emerged victorious, but at the same time came out exhausted.

"When you're this mad, trust me, you do know how to put people in their place."

Zoey turned around and pressed the button to summon the elevator. When the elevator came, we stepped in and the doors closed.

"I guess you figured out what G-Dragon and I talked about last night," said Zoey as she looked at me.

"It wasn't that hard to figure it out," I said.

"Just like it wasn't hard for you to know that G-Dragon would be here. Sometimes your mind works like a supercomputer."

"You know computers are just dumb machines, right?" I looked at Zoey. "They only do what they do because they have commands installed in them to work as they are supposed to."

"You're right. You're like a detective who plays by her own rules and always connects the dots."

I smiled. "You always call me that."

"Ya, because you're smart too."

The elevator reached the ground floor and we came out of the elevator finding ourselves in the lobby.

"You know we should celebrate our victory," said Zoey.

"How?" I asked. "The group hasn't been made official and we can't celebrate when the three groups aren't together."

"We can figure something out," said Zoey. "We won't have to be all together in one place, you know?"

"I think I've an idea," I said as we walked out into the parking lot heading to the car.

"I knew you would," said Zoey as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders.


	7. Chapter 6: BigBang's Dorm

The fact that we had excitedly emerged victorious yesterday with making BTW official couldn't get out of my mind. I couldn't get over the feeling and I know I wasn't the only one.

Yesterday after our meeting, us The Toxins, BlackPink and WINNER decided to have our own private party. We all couldn't be in one place because of the condition our managers gave us not to meet too often. We weren't going to put BTW on the line and risk all that we struggled to keep alive. So, the only way we could celebrate together was through webcam using Skype.

Ya, you heard me. Skype. As much as it sounds silly, it was the only thing I could think of and at the end of it all, everything worked out pretty well. I used my laptop, which I realise, I haven't used in a while and connected with WINNER and BlackPink at their respective dorms also through their laptops.

Our celebration was silly if you ask me. There wasn't any food or drinks we could all drink together and celebrate. But we did dance to pop songs and act all goofy because we were so happy that BTW will be made official.

Not only did we celebrate, we also had a chat about a lot of things. Not about how BTW will be become a huge hit when its finally official. We also got to know each other a little better and it was fun having this kind of interaction even if it was over the net.

As much as I am happy about our victory, I still couldn't get off what happened with G-Dragon yesterday that it still hurt. We haven't tried to talk to each other since. I hadn't tried to call him and he hadn't even tried either. I think it was better this way because I needed to get my mind off things and focus on the future with BTW.

And also, I had to focus on the cards I had in my hands right now. I only had three cards left. I looked across from where I sat on the floor and I could see Daniel had three cards in his hands too.

"Sam?" Zoey who sat to my right asked. "Do you happen to have any threes?"

I looked at the set of cards in my hand. I had a queen, a nine and a three. Zoey's really lucky, and so am I.

"Here," I gave Zoey the card and she happily took it from my hand. From the set of cards in her hands, she drew out another three and threw the two cards in the centre of the circle.

"Finally," said Zoey. "I've gone fishing too many times and I don't know if I can handle all these cards in my hands."

"You're already losing the game, Zoey," said Mike who sat in between her and Daniel. "You've too many cards indeed."

"Don't push me into saying something you might regret later," said Zoey as she gave Mike a dangerous look.

Before Mike could hit back with a silly response, I interrupted him by asking Christine to my left, "do you have a nine?"

Christine stared at the cards in her hands. "No, go fish," she replied.

"Dang it!" I muttered as I stretched out my hand to the deck of cards, called the pool, that were overturned so that you wouldn't see the card you picked. This time I picked an ace of eights. How agonising!

"Daniel, do you have a king?" Christine asked Daniel.

"No, go fish," said Daniel as he smiled at Christine.

Christine stretched out her hand into the pool to get a card. And her face cringed upon seeing what she got.

Daniel turned to look at Mike. "Do you happen to have a two?"

Mike looked at his brother. "No, go fish."

"Are you sure?"

"You think I'm lying?"

"Anyone can lie in Go Fish so that the other wouldn't win."

"And if it comes to Mike, I wouldn't be surprised," said Zoey.

"You're the one whose lying because whenever I ask you for a card, you don't have any," said Mike.

"It's because I don't have the card you're looking for!"

"It's the same here with Daniel. I don't have a two."

"Can we please get on with the game?" I asked. "Afterwards, you can fight like cats and dogs."

"Does Mike have to be the cat? Because I can't wait to have him for lunch," said Zoey.

"Dogs don't eat cats," said Mike as he rolled his eyes.

"But they are better and stronger than cats."

"Says who?" Mike and I asked at the same time.

There was a pause as all eyes were on Zoey. Christine almost burst out laughing but held it in instead. Zoey sighed.

"Forget it," said Zoey as she looked at her cards. "Let's just carry on with the game."

Daniel stretched his hand to the pool to pick a card. When he looked at it, he smiled as he withdrew another card from his hands and threw the two cards in the centre. They were both twos. The rest of us gasped.

"What? How do you do that?" Christine asked in amazement.

When it comes to Go Fish, Daniel was always considered the lucky one when it came to picking out cards from the pool. It's because of that that he's usually the first one to have all his cards laid down. When he doesn't get the card he's asking for, he somehow manages to pick the right card at just the right moment from the pool.

"I'm just lucky I guess," he said with a smile on his face.

"'I'm just lucky I guess,'" Mike mimicked his brother. "Admit it! Whenever you shuffle the cards, you always win."

"That's not true and you know it," said Christine. "How many times have we all shuffled the cards and still Daniel wins by laying down all his cards first?"

"Since today." Mike scratched his head as he looked up at the ceiling.

"He has magic fingers and you know it," said Zoey.

"Fine, let's continue the game, shall we?" Mike turned to look at Zoey. "Do you have a ten?"

Zoey removed a card from the cards in her hands and gave the card to Mike.

"Thank you," said Mike as he took the card and withdrew another ten from his set, throwing the two cards at the centre.

"You're not welcome," Zoey muttered as she rolled her eyes.

"I know," Mike smirked.

"Sam, do you have a....?"

Zoey was interrupted by the hotel landline ringing. We all fell silent as the five of us looked at each other wondering who was going to pick it up.

"Isn't anyone going to get that?" I asked as I went back to looking at my cards.

"Looks like no one is going to do it, so I will," said Christine as she got up from the floor, leaving the cards she had overturned on the floor and went to pick up the phone.

"Hello," said Christine cheerfully as she put the earpiece to her ear. "Oh, he is here?"

I turned to look at Christine and I saw her looking back at me. Who was here to see us that she looked so nervous? Could it be G-Dragon?

"Mmm, I wonder who it is," said Mike, with an eyebrow raised.

Christine looked away as she said, "you can tell him to come up. Thanks."

"Who is it, Christine?" Zoey asked.

"Ummm, it's G-Dragon," said Christine as she looked at us and her eyes fell on me last. "I hope it's okay that I let him in."

"Well, it's fine if he has come here to apologise," said Daniel. "But I ain't mad at him for what he did yesterday."

"I think that last statement was for Sam," said Zoey.

"Why me?" I asked.

"Well, it's pretty obvious you're still mad at him unlike the rest of us and that you don't want to see him."

I got up from the floor and dropped the cards I was holding. "I am mad, yes. And, I'm in no mood for his apology. If you need me, I'll be in my room."

"You know, you aren't being fair," said Christine. "Why can't you hear him out first? I bet for him to come here he is sorry for what he did."

"Christine's right," said Zoey as she also got up from the floor. "He hurt you and us too. But you already know that if it wasn't for what he did, there would be no BTW. And the most important thing is that you two are friends. Knowing you, you don't like to hate anyone forever. We all know why he did that in the first place."

"Well, some of us don't," said Daniel. "May you clarify on that part, please?"

Mike hit the back of Daniel's head. Daniel growled in pain as he held his head and looked at his older brother.

"What was that for?" Daniel asked.

"You act like you don't know what's going on sometimes when you do," said Mike.

"No, I do...." Daniel paused as his eyes looked like they would pop out of his sockets any moment now. "Ooooh. I get it now."

I shook my head at my brothers and before I could think of what to say next, we heard the sound of the elevator doors open. He was here. Dang it! I didn't want to be in the lounge when he got here. What was I going to do now?

I heard footsteps from the hall and I knew he was coming. He soon appeared at the entrance of the lounge and I paused at the sight of him. My heart even skipped a beat.

G-Dragon was staring right back at me and this time he had a sad smile on his face unlike the silly cute ones he would give me most of the time. I noticed the bags under his eyes and I could tell he hadn't slept well last night. Apparently, I hadn't either.

"Ah! GD, you're here!" Zoey said excitedly as she went over to him and gave him a brief hug. I guess after all that had happened between the two of them, Zoey still showed some affection towards him. She's always admired him after all.

"Looks like you're not mad at me," said G-Dragon as he put up a bright smile for Zoey. I turned away when I felt a sharp piercing inside.

"Gosh, you're still worried about that?" Zoey asked as she laughed. "Just so you know, I can never stay mad at you."

"Same here," said Christine as she went over to hug G-Dragon as well. "Are you okay? You look like you haven't slept at all."

"Of course he hasn't," said Mike as he and Daniel got up from the floor. "I can tell it's because you're worried that Sam might stay mad at you forever."

I wanted to fire back at my brother but I kept my mouth shut instead when everyone turned to look at me. I felt like I had been put in an awkward position right now and all I felt like running out of the lounge.

"So," said Daniel as he clapped his hands. "I think you two have a lot to talk about. We will leave you two alone."

"No," I said just as the other Toxins were about to turn around and leave. "G-Dragon and I already talked yesterday. There is no need for us to talk and I am surly not in a mood to hear a thing he has to say."

Zoey's jaw dropped as she looked at me. "You're so harsh, Sam. To be honest, I've never heard you say anything like this."

"Don't forget, she's mad," said Christine. "You know how she is when she's like this."

"Aren't you going to say anything, GD?" Daniel asked as he looked at G-Dragon.

"No, I have nothing to say," G-Dragon replied. "Sam's right. We have nothing to talk about. And just like she isn't in a mood to hear what I've to say, I didn't come here to see her."

I was stunned. And so were the rest of The Toxins. I tried not to show my reaction as I folded my arms and pursed my lips tightly together. Because I felt like screaming out loud with rage.

"Then why are you here?" Mike asked.

"I wanted to apologise to you guys with what happened yesterday," said G-Dragon. "I didn't get to do so when I had the chance, so, I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it," said Daniel. "Just like Zoey said earlier, we can't stay mad at you, so we are cool."

"And to make it up to you, I would like to take you somewhere."

"Ooooh! Where do you want to take us?" Zoey asked with so much excitement.

"To our dorm. BigBang's dorm."

I almost dropped to the floor as I felt the world spin below my feet. Did he just say BigBang's dorm? The dorm where the five lived under one roof throughout their music career. Oh, gosh! I felt like screaming to the heavens with excitement.

Christine and Zoey were doing so already.

Unfortunately, I couldn't.

And I felt I was going to get sick. Sick with envy that is.

"OMG! Are you serious right now!" Zoey asked as she jumped up and down and gave a scream.

G-Dragon smiled. And I could recognise it from a mile away. He was doing all of this just to get to me. If he thought he was going to move me, I wasn't shaken at all. Well, at least that's what I told myself.

"I can't believe we to get to go to your dorm," said Mike with an unbelievable smile on his face. "Okay, I can't help it. I'm excited too."

"Me too," said Daniel. "Wait, hold up. Should we tell Collins that we will be going to your dorm so that we wouldn't get in trouble?"

"Daa! Of course," said Zoey. "I wouldn't like to get in trouble ever again. Especially now that we have two managers instead of one."

I smirked in the inside. Even if they were to ask Collins, they wouldn't get to go. As far as the managers' instructions were concerned, we were told to keep a low profile at the moment. If the universe was on my side, the managers weren't going to agree at all.

"I had a talk with them this morning," said G-Dragon. "I convinced them you should come and they said it was okay."

"For real?" the four Toxins asked at the same time.

G-Dragon nodded his head. "For real."

Looks like the universe was never on my side the entire time. Dang it!

"We better get going then," said Zoey as she clapped her hands. "I'll go get myself ready." Zoey rushed out of the lounge.

"Ya, me too," said Christine, following Zoey.

"I don't want to behave like a girl but it looks like I've to get ready too," said Mike.

"I am right with you," said Daniel and the two brothers left the lounge.

It was now the two of us. All alone in the empty, quiet lounge. This felt ridiculous. Especially when I imagined a tumbleweed roll right between us in the room.

I wasn't looking at G-Dragon the whole time the quiet moments passed. I could feel his eyes on me and my eyes were on the floor looking at the cards scattered everywhere. Our game of Go Fish had been completely interrupted and forgotten about all because of him.

"Aren't you going to get ready?" G-Dragon asked.

"No," I answered as I moved a queen of hearts on the floor using my big toe. "I'm not going."

"May I ask why?"

I looked up at him. "You know why."

I went down to kneel on the floor and started to gather all the cards together. I saw G-Dragon approach through the corner of my eye and I pretended not to notice.

"It's a pity that you aren't coming," said G-Dragon as he now stood a foot away from me. "We were going to have so much fun together."

"Too bad indeed," I said as I finished gathering the cards together.

I stood up from the floor and this time, I looked at G-Dragon straight in the eye.

"I know you did this just so I can forgive you," I said as I gave G-Dragon a smile.

"And I can see that didn't work," he said as he smiled back.

"Ya, it didn't."

"What's it going to take then for you to forgive me?"

"Mmmm." I stared up at the ceiling as I bit my lip pretending to be deep in thought. "I don't know. But you'll figure it out someday."

"You look so sexy when you bite your lip like that."

I almost dropped the cards I was holding in my hands and my cheeks blushed all of the sudden. I cleared my throat as I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. I looked at G-Dragon who had a playful smirk on his face and that almost made me blush even more. But I stood my ground and told myself that I was not shaken by his soothing charm.

He suddenly raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm impressed."

"Impressed with what?" I asked.

"You don't seem to be surprised at all with what I said. The Sam I know would have her cheeks blushing throughout. But this time, you didn't even last for seconds."

I smirked. Good. If I could keep this up, I might just have him begging to his knees for me to forgive him.

"Looks like your charms don't work on me anymore," I said. "So, if you could excuse me, I think we are done here."

Just as I was about to take my leave, G-Dragon came to stand in front of me, blocking my way. I almost bumped into him as we stood so close facing each other.

"I still think I have an effect on you, my dear kitty," G-Dragon said softly as his eyes bore into mine. "If anything, I think I got you when I told the others that I was taking them to see BigBang's dorm."

"Ha!" I almost laughed out loud, rolling my eyes. "As much as I am a fan, trust me, I don't need you to invite me over just to see your dorm."

G-Dragon nodded his head and smiled. "Of course, the rest of my group members will do so when you ask them to. Since they are likely to obey to your every command."

"Obey? No. But yes, they would come and bring me over if I ask any one of them to."

"That seems more like telling them to carry out an order."

"I don't give orders, GD."

"You've no idea how you sometimes play the role of a queen, Sam." G-Dragon leaned closer and his musky cologne almost drew me in. "You might not know it, but you're one."

This time I blushed but I kept myself under control again and tilted my head to the side as I folded my arms.

"Nice try," I said. "That didn't work either."

"Are you really not going to forgive me?" G-Dragon asked.

I smirked. "One thing is for sure, I can't stay mad at people forever. Most especially you. I won't lie that I am still upset with what you did yesterday. But that doesn't mean you don't deserve another chance."

"So, you forgive me?"

I smiled this time around. "Yes. And that's only because I can't stand that you have to struggle to make me fall for your little charms and schemes just for me to forgive you." I didn't mean it anyway.

"What?" G-Dragon raised an eyebrow at me.

"You heard me. But that doesn't mean I'm going with you guys to your dorm."

G-Dragon had a surprised look on his face and I felt like kissing him on the cheek for the fun of it. But instead, I gave him a wink and walked past him. Just as I was about to leave the lounge, Zoey and Christine suddenly appeared from the passage way, blocking my way.

"Okay, BK, you've done enough," said Zoey as she folded her arms. "I want you to forgive G-Dragon right now."

"I already did," I said. "And by the way, those black high heels look cute with your outfit."

Zoey wore a white body top which has the words written "Queen" in gold and matching blue tight denim jeans. She looked at herself when I complimented her.

"Oh, thanks," said Zoey. "Hey! Don't change the subject here." She pointed her finger at me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm being honest."

"Ya, but I always look good that you don't have to say it. You're going with us whether you like it or not."

"But I don't feel like going."

"Come on, Sam, it won't be fun without you there," said Christine.

"But Zoey and my brothers always call me a party pooper. So why should I go?"

"You know I only joke around," said Zoey. "It won't look good if you don't come with us."

"Zoey's right," said G-Dragon behind me. "The rest of BigBang are all expecting you to be there. And you know that they won't like it if you don't come."

I sighed. G-Dragon did have a point. And I'm afraid if I didn't refuse, these two crazy girls were going to drag me out of here in the worst and also embarrassing way possible.

"Do you want me to call Collins?" Christine asked when I didn't say anything. "You know that if you don't go, we can't either. Remember what happened when we left without you to Caribbean Bay?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Please, this time you're going to an apartment. Not a water park."

"Anything can happen you know," said Zoey. "We can burn the place down."

"That's if you even try to cook, Zoey."

"Okay, are you coming or not?" Christine asked.

"I'm coming. But only because something weird can happen if I'm not around."

"Yes!" Zoey and Christine high fived each other.

"I'll go get ready then," I said.

"Finally," said G-Dragon.

I turned to look at him. "I'm going because of them. Not for your sake."

G-Dragon only smiled and didn't say a word. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Looks like he won this round with the help of Zoey and Christine. Next time, he was going to beg for mercy.

I went to the room to get myself ready and within minutes I found myself in the lounge where everyone else was waiting for me.

"Okay, I'm ready," I said as I stood by the doorway.

"Yes," said Daniel as he got up from his seat. "I thought the others were kidding when they said you were coming along with us."

"Well, Daniel, I realise I can't leave you four all on your own. Collins would kill me."

"You look really nice, Sam," said Zoey as she also stood up from her seat. "Isn't that right, GD?"

I quickly turned around and found myself in the hall heading to the elevator. I heard muttering and whispering behind me as the others followed me down the hall. I pressed the elevator button to summon the lift.

"To be honest, I really can't wait to see your dorm," said Christine as she smiled at G-Dragon. "I'm so excited."

"We all are," said Mike. "Aren't you, Sam?"

"Mmmm," I muttered with my arms folded as we waited for the elevator doors to open. I wondered why it was taking so long.

When the elevator finally came, we all got in and when the doors close before us, I pressed the button heading to the lobby.

While the elevator continued to move, I was looking up at the elevator monitor when G-Dragon who stood behind me leaned in close to whisper in my ear.

"I see you're wearing that pendant I gave you," he whispered. "Looks really nice with that dress of yours."

If I had worn pointed high heels with this black summer dress, I would have stepped on G-Dragon's foot so that I could shut him up. I pretended not to have heard him and I sighed in relief when the doors flew open and we all came out of the elevator.

When we all stepped out of the lobby through the hotel doors, we found a group of paparazzi waiting for us. Immediately they saw us, they had us surrounded. Luckily, the hotel security came along to ward them off until we got to the cars waiting for us. I for one went in the SUV with my two brothers while Zoey and Christine went in G-Dragon's fancy white lamborgini. I wasn't surprised. Right now, it felt like G-Dragon and I were at war and some people had to pick a side. It was obvious the girls were with G-Dragon and as for my brothers, were obviously on mine because of the special bond we share.

G-Dragon's car lead the way out of the hotel premises and the SUV followed behind it. While the cars drove down the streets of Seoul, I felt my phone beep in my hand and when I looked at it, I noticed a message from Zoey. When I read it, I sucked my teeth.

"Well, someone looks irritated," said Mike behind me.

I turned to look at my brothers since I sat in the front passenger seat. The two of them looked back at me.

"Zoey," the three of us said at the same time.

"What's her problem?" Daniel asked as he clicked his tongue.

"She's trying to make me forgive G-Dragon," I replied.

"But you have, haven't you?" Mike asked.

"Not entirely," I said as I thought the question through. "I want to, but I just can't."

"I understand you," said Daniel. "You just need more time."

"True. And I just had to come because you guys weren't going to forgive me if I didn't follow."

"Ya, well, you're the one ticket for us to go anywhere we want to go."

"I hate that I've to be around you guys all the time. You can take care of yourselves but Collins doesn't want the Caribbean Bay incident to happen again."

"I don't blame him," said Mike. "Looks like we are way too hard to handle after all."

"And so is Zoey." I stared down at my phone to read the message again.

"What did she send you?"

"She's just telling me that I should have been in G-Dragon's car because right now they are having fun. I know she's trying to make me envious but it's not working."

"But you were envious when G-Dragon said he was taking us to his dorm right?" Daniel asked.

"I won't lie, I was. I didn't want to go so that I could show him I am seriously mad. He did do this just for me to forgive him. But it's going to take a whole lot than that."

"Playing hard to get. Nice."

"It's not really working out though. Looks like he's still getting his way for me to get close. Close enough for me to forgive him."

"You may think so, but I think he's going to try in every way for you to fully forgive him," said Mike.

"How do you know that?" I turned my head to look at my brother.

"I'm a guy, I know." Mike gave me a smile.

"We'll see." I went back to looking in front of me and my eyes flew to G-Dragon's car before us.

A few minutes later, G-Dragon's car turned round a corner and packed in front of an apartment building. The car I was in packed behind G-Dragon's car. My brothers and I got out of the car. G-Dragon, Zoey and Christine were already out of the vehicle they were in.

"This is the place then?" I asked as I looked at the grey apartment building in front of us.

"Yes, it is, my little kitty," said G-Dragon he came to stand next me as he also looked at the building. I took a side step away from him.

"Shall we go in?" Zoey asked. "I'm really dying to see your place."

"You can go and we'll catch up."

Zoey started to walk up to the entrance of the building when she finally turned back and this time, she looked really angry as she stared at GD.

"Haha, very funny, Ji Yong," she said as she folded her arms. "I don't know your apartment floor number."

"That was very silly yet very funny of you, Zoey," said Mike as he laughed.

I smiled at Zoey and didn't say a word as the others laughed along with Mike. All Zoey did was sulk.

"Come on, right this way," said G-Dragon as he led the way.

We followed G-Dragon up the small stone steps of the building and we found ourselves in the apartment lobby room. I had to admit, it's a pretty lobby with a smooth shiny black marble floor and the decor in the seating area was exquisite. I noticed a lovely glass chandelier hanging in the middle of the room.

"This place is lovely," said Christine as she stopped and stood around the lobby.

"It sure is," said Daniel, looking at the chandelier.

"This place wasn't what it was back then," said G-Dragon as he looked up at the chandelier.

"Mmm, I get what you mean," I said as I looked at him.

"I don't," said Zoey and I quickly nudged her roughly on her side so that she could keep quiet. He howled in pain, silently.

We headed towards the elevator and got in. G-Dragon pressed the button leading to the floor of his apartment. When we got to the floor, we came out of the elevator and turned down the hall with G-Dragon leading the way.

We got to the end of the hall and G-Dragon stopped in front of the wooden door to the apartment. He knocked on the door and in a few seconds, the door flew open.

The person who opened the door was Seungri. And by the looks of things, it looked like he had come straight out of bed in his light blue sleeping robe which had pandas on it and his eyes looking all sleepy. But I had to admit, he looked cute with his short hair all messed up.

"GD?" Seungri asked as he rubbed his eyes. "Am I seeing right or are The Toxins standing right behind you?"

"It's us Seungri," I said.

Seungri shook his head and this time he was wide awake.

"Oh! You're all here!" Seungri said with excitement. "I completely forgot that you're coming over today."

"It can clearly show," said G-Dragon. Sounded like he was losing his temper. "I told you not to stay up so late but instead you went out for some party."

"You went out?" Zoey asked putting her hands on her hips as if she were an angry parent. "Why didn't you invite us? Better yet me."

"Zoey," Daniel looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Seungri gets invited anywhere, and at anytime," said G-Dragon.

"Whatever. Now that you're here, welcome to our dorm!" said Seungri as he came forward and took me by the hand, dragging me inside the apartment.

"Whoa! Seungri, hold on!" I warned him as I almost tumbled forward while entering through the door. "Wow!"

I was filled with awe when I looked around their so called "dorm."

The living room had an exquisite and most expensive furniture with its fine white leather sofas, but it again looked more like a gaming room on my part because of the five colourful bean bag chairs all in awkward places in the middle of the living room.

There was even a large flat plasma screen TV facing the living room and I noticed game controllers on the floor and a game console. That made me raise an eyebrow for a moment. Don't tell me they were gamers or else I was going to faint.

"Oh my gosh, this place is totally tight," said Mike as he and Daniel ran in towards the living room and got the game controllers.

"You guys are gamers?" I asked, looking at Seungri who still held my hand.

"When we're bored, yes," answered Seungri.

"This is so cool," said Daniel as he sat on a bean bag and looked at the games on the floor. "Sam, can we start to stay here for a little while till we go back home?" Daniel looked at me.

"Do I look like Collins to you?" I asked.

"No, you don't," came Taeyang's voice. "If you did, you wouldn't be this attractive."

I turned to look behind me and noticed Taeyang coming from the small kitchen area in an apron. He gave us that eye smile of his and I smiled back.

"Morning, Tae!" Zoey and Christine said at the same time as they both went to hug him.

"Hey, I'm glad you're all here," said Taeyang after the girls broke away from him. "You look pretty, Sam."

"I wanted to say that," said Seungri as his eyebrows went up and down as he looked at me. "Especially the dress."

"Really defines her as a Black Kitty alright," said G-Dragon as he came to stand on my other side. I suddenly felt awkward.

"Are you cooking something, Tae?" Christine asked, gladly changing the subject.

"I was fixing up a special brunch for you guys," said Taeyang.

"Great!" said Mike. "I'm starving. I never had enough breakfast."

"Where is Daesung and Choi?" Zoey asked.

"Still in their rooms, I guess," said G-Dragon, as he looked down the hall.

"Why don't you show these guys around, then?" Taeyang asked addressing G-Dragon and Seungri.

"You guys can take the girls around," said Mike. "You'll find us here in the living room."

"I'll take Sam around then," said Seungri as he started to drag me down the hall since he still held my hand.

"No," said G-Dragon as he held my other free hand and stopped me from going with Seungri, pulling me back to him. "You go change. I'll take Sam and the other girls around."

"You can take the others, I'll specifically take Sam around," said Seungri as he pulled me towards him.

"I don't trust you, Seungri." G-Dragon pulled me towards him. "You're obviously going to take her to your room and have her all to yourself."

I blushed when G-Dragon said that. There were many ways to describe what he meant and now wasn't the time to figure out what. I seriously didn't like the position I was in at the moment. I felt like a rag doll who is being fought over by two annoying kids.

"I am loving this drama," said Zoey, as she giggled. "Looks like someone doesn't like the idea of you being alone with someone else, Sam."

"I get it Zoey, thank you very much," I said. I turned to look at G-Dragon and then at Seungri. "And you two better let go of my hands or I'll scratch your eyes out. I mean it."

"Ooooh, you better listen to the kitty," said Daniel as he winced. "You don't want to see her claws."

"Ya, she's a fighter when she wants to, just let her go," said Christine.

At first, G-Dragon and Seungri hesitated as they looked at each other. I gave them a warning look that I was serious with my threat but they didn't seem to budge.

"Come on, guys, you're both acting childish," said Taeyang. "You know that's no way to treat a lady. And it's Sam for that matter."

G-Dragon sighed as he slowly let go of my hand first, then Seungri. I felt relieved and I took a few steps away from them to stand beside Taeyang and the girls.

"That was easy," I said as I looked at Taeyang. "Thanks, Tae. I would have handled them if they didn't listen."

"Well, I would have loved to see your pretty little claws," said Seungri with a beaming smile on his face. I stuck out a tongue at him.

"Isn't anyone going to show us around then?" Zoey asked.

"They will both show you around," said Taeyang pointing at both Seungri and G-Dragon. "That won't be a problem, right?" He looked at the two.

Seungri and G-Dragon rolled their eyes obviously feeling annoyed like kids who didn't want to do as they were told.

"Yes," they muttered dully at the same time.

"They can show Zoey and Christine around," I said. "I'll get to go around later."

"Great," said Taeyang. "Then you can help me with the food then."

"I'm delighted to." I smiled brightly at Taeyang.

I was super grateful that I could save myself from Seungri and G-Dragon by keeping myself busy. I gladly smirked at them before I turned around to the small kitchen area with Taeyang. I didn't want to get caught in any kind of drama like the one we had seconds ago. And besides, I didn't even want to be near G-Dragon at all.

"Well, that was something," said Taeyang as soon as the others had gone down the hall and my two brothers were now caught up playing a game in the living room.

"Tell me about it," I said as I walked over to the stove and bent down to see what was cooking in the oven. "Wow, are you making a quiche?" I stared at Taeyang with amazement. "I never knew you would be this good at cooking."

"Well, I try out a new few things now and then," said Taeyang as he smiled at me.

"Then, I'm glad I joined you. This is going to be a lot of fun."

"Then you better put this on," said Taeyang as he went to get a red and white checkered apron hang on the wall next to the refrigerator and gave it to me. "I don't want you messing up that pretty dress of yours."

"Thanks." I quickly put on the apron. "So, what should I do first, Chef?"

"Are you seriously calling me that?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" I looked at him.

"No, you're not. You can start by getting eggs in the fridge. You can make an egg omelette or anything you seem appropriate. I'm almost done with everything. Then we can make lasagna afterwards."

"On it," I said as I went over to open the refrigerator to get the eggs. I noticed a bowl of strawberries and I managed to put one in my mouth and got the tray of eggs.

"Yes," said Mike, I looked at him and his eyes were still fixed on the TV screen. "Sam makes the best omelette."

"Can't wait to taste it," said Taeyang as he drew out a pan from the closet underneath the counter next to the stove.

I helped prepare the omelettes and Taeyang's quiche was ready. He had prepared other food stuffs as well, like sandwiches, croissant, bacon, fresh toast and pancakes.

I was done with the omelettes and decided to help Taeyang out making the lasagna. While we did that, we had a fun chat. I asked him about how Hyo-rin was doing and he asked me about the little drama we had yesterday with G-Dragon, the managers and BTW. I explained everything to him though it felt like a painful process, especially on the part where G-Dragon was willing to get us in trouble with our managers.

"I wish I was there to see all that going on," said Taeyang.

"You should have been there," I said. "It was funny how everything turned in our favour. The others ended up forgiving G-Dragon."

"All except you of course."

"True. I want to forgive him but I just can't. I'm not mad but when I think about it, it hurts."

"I admit what he did was awful and I told him it wasn't a good idea."

"He confronted you about this?" I looked at Taeyang.

"Yes," Taeyang shrugged his shoulders. "He is my best friend after all. He just made me swore not to tell you anything."

I rolled my eyes. "Typical."

"If you ask me, I think it's a good thing you're not willing to forgive him just yet."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, right after he came back from YG, I had never seen him look like that before. Looks like he was about to lose something that mattered to him the most."

"I don't matter to him. He and I just like the rest of us here know music is what matters."

"True. But person wise, he cares about you a lot. And that might just make him a better person than he is. It's best he tastes love the hard way. And what better way than not forgiving him anytime sooner over what he did?"

Taeyang gave me a small smile as he turned away and approached the counter in the middle of the kitchen. I didn't say a word as I thought of what he said. I quickly brushed it off afterwards as I put the lasagna in the oven.

A few minutes later just as I was taking the lasagna out of the stove with oven mittens, I felt someone standing right behind me. For a moment I thought it was Taeyang because I had left him arranging the food by the counter. I turned around with the hot pan the lasagna and I soon realised who had been standing behind me.

It was TOP. And he moved away just in time before I could burn him with the pan.

"What are you doing?" I asked as put the pan on the counter. "You would've gotten burnt."

"I was trying to hug you from behind," said TOP as he smiled at me.

"Well, that was a terrible idea," said Taeyang as he went over to the fridge to get the bowl of strawberries.

"Now you can hug me," I said as I stretched out my arms wide still wearing oven mittens and TOP took a step forward to hug me.

"I missed you so much," he said. "I though the others were joking when they said you were in the kitchen helping out."

"I also love to cook," I said with a smile. "And it's been a while since I have been in the kitchen so I took the opportunity."

"Nice, I can't wait to taste your cooking."

"Tae's done almost everything. We will be able to have brunch in a few minutes. Where's Daesung? I haven't seen him."

"Don't know. He didn't come here?"

"I was expecting him to."

"That's strange," said Taeyang. "Could it be that he might have snuck out of the apartment without us realising?"

"Or, he could be right here with us playing video games," Daniel called out from the living room.

Taeyang, TOP and I turned towards the living room area and there was Daesung who sat in between Mike and Daniel, facing the TV and tapping uncontrollably on the game controllers. They were all fixed on the screen and I couldn't help but shake my head at them. Boys.

"Yes!" Daesung punched the air. "I win!"

"Arrgh, no fair," said Mike as he slapped his hands in annoyance and at the same time, dropping the game controller to the floor. "I almost had you. Almost."

"I've played this game a lot more than you have," said Daesung. "I know every trick in the book."

"No doubt about that," said Daniel.

"Aren't you even going to say hi or continue blabbering about your victory?" I asked as I approached the living room.

"Don't think I forgot about you, Sam," said Daesung as he got from where he sat and came to hug me. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." When we broke away from each other, I looked at him. "Why didn't you come by and say hi?"

"I saw you were busy and didn't want to disturb the two of you."

"Where are the others?" Taeyang asked. "Food is almost ready."

"Really? I'm starving," said Daniel.

"Me too," said TOP. "I haven't had breakfast."

"Whatever you stay up late for, only God knows," said Taeyang as he went back to the kitchen to finish up.

"Can you let the others know they are needed here?" I asked Daesung.

"Sure," he said as he went down the hall to look for the others.

"Can we start without them?" Daniel as he came to stand next to me.

"So you can have all the food to yourself?" I asked with my eyebrow raised. "No way. We eat together."

"That wasn't such a bad idea, Daniel," said TOP as he winked at Daniel. "I was planning to have everything myself."

"Boys always have a huge appetite," I said with a smile.

I went back to helping Taeyang out with the food preparation while TOP joined my brothers in the living room.

As Taeyang and I served the food on the low dining table in the dining area, voices came echoing down the hall. G-Dragon, Zoey, Christine and Seungri were talking and laughing loudly as they approached the living area. Daesung came following behind them.

"That was so funny," said Zoey, as she wiped he tears from her eyes. "I can't stop laughing.

"What's the joke about?" Mike asked.

"Nothing," Zoey answered. "You wouldn't get it."

"I surly hope it isn't about me," I whispered over to Taeyang from across the table. Taeyang almost burst out laughing.

"What is it?" Zoey asked as she looked over at us in the dining area.

"Nothing," said Taeyang. "Food is ready."

"Ooh! Is that quiche?" Christine asked as she came over and looked at what was on the table. "My favourite."

"And Taeyang made it," I said as I smiled at Christine.

"Gosh, I can't wait to put that in my mouth." Christine settled down on the floor.

"May everyone come and settle down, please?" I called out to the others as I stood up from the floor.

"Yum, yum, yum," said TOP as he came to settle down by the table with my two brothers.

"This is the first time I'm having my food on a low table before," said Mike. "Feels weird but exciting."

"I must have left the strawberries in the kitchen," said Taeyang. "Can you go get them, Sam?"

"Sure," I said.

"And try not to eat them all," said Taeyang before I could turn towards the kitchen.

"Huh?" I blushed.

"Ya, she's a fan of strawberries," said Zoey as she sat next to Christine.

"And she was eating them whenever she got to the fridge." Taeyang continued to look at me. "Don't think I didn't notice."

"I couldn't help it," I said. "Sorry."

"Awww," said Seungri. "Her cheeks look so cute like strawberries themselves."

"I'm going to hit you and knock your teeth out so that you can stop talking."

I went over to the kitchen to grab the strawberries. When I went back to the dining table, everyone had settled down and the only place left for me to sit was at the end of the table beside Daesung, facing G-Dragon on the opposite side. Great! Just what I need. I didn't want eating my meal facing him. What luck.

After I settled the strawberries with the rest of the dishes on the table and took the empty space next to Daesung, I did my best not to look at G-Dragon as I started to settle the cut quiche on my plate.

In a few minutes when everyone was silent and enjoying their meal, Seungri said:

"This is so delicious. You two make the best chefs."

"Thanks," Taeyang and I said at the same time.

"You should prepare dinner," said Daesung as he looked at me.

"Speaking of which," I said as I looked at Taeyang who sat a distance away from me. "You did promise me you would teach me how to make some Korean dishes."

"I remember," said Taeyang. "And this is the perfect day to do so."

"Wait," said Daniel. "Does that mean we'll stay here the whole day?"

"If that's what's going to keep you guys hooked playing games all day, then yes," I answered.

"This is turning out to be the best day ever," said Mike with a smile.

"It surly is," said G-Dragon. I still didn't look at him.

"I'll also be joining your cooking class, Tae," said Christine.

"Then we better call Collins and tell him we will be back a bit late," I said.

"We have to go grocery shopping too," said Taeyang.

"Christine, you and I can do that," I said as I poured some orange juice in my cup.

"I also want to go shopping too," said Zoey.

"It's grocery shopping, not the usual shopping you love to do," said Christine.

"Don't worry," said G-Dragon. "You and I, Zoey, can do our own shopping."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said.

"And why not? If you can do what you want, why can't we?"

I looked at G-Dragon this time, being careful enough not to crush the glass I was holding in my hand.

"I also don't get it," said Zoey. "We are definitely going shopping, GD. Don't mind us, Sam. It's not like anything bad is going to happen when we go shopping. Besides, anyone else can come along too."

"I think some of us will pass," said TOP.

"Well, it's at your loss then," said G-Dragon. "Some of us are going to have fun. Right, Zoey?"

"Definitely," Zoey smiled at G-Dragon.

I rolled my eyes at them. I didn't want to say anything that might just offend them, so I kept quiet and put a sweet strawberry in my mouth.

As the conversation went on around the table about God knows what, I simply had a funny feeling that something might go down today. And I couldn't tell if it was a good thing or not.

***  
Sorry for the late update on the story guys. Have been busy this past month and now even on holiday, I still couldn't manage to finish this one chapter on time. It shows I won't be able to update my story the way I used to until further notice, but I'll try as best as I can.

Once again, I'm really sorry from the delay.


	8. Chapter 7: Bumping Heads... With BTS

"Can you please stop tapping your fingers and try to relax?" Taeyang asked. "When you look like that, you make me worry."

"Sorry," I said as I lifted my fingers away from the dashboard of the car and leaned back in my seat, trying to relax.

"What's gotten into you?" Taeyang managed to look at me even when he had to focus on the road.

"You don't have a high fever, do you?" Christine who sat in the back seat asked. She leaned closer to place her hand on my forehead.

"No, no, I don't," I said as I waved her hand away and looked out the car window at God knows what.

"You look nervous and excited at the same time that I can't really tell the difference," said Taeyang. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Are you worried that Zoey and G-Dragon will get into some kind of trouble?" Christine also asked.

"No, I'm not thinking about that," I said as I looked up at the rearview mirror to look at Christine.

"Then what's wrong with you? Taeyang's right. You look nervous yet excited."

"I don't know to be honest," I said as I scratched my head. "Do I look like a lunatic?"

"If that how you're going to put it, then yes." Christine started to snicker.

"No, you don't," said Taeyang as he threw a look at Christine.

"I don't know, I feel really anxious," I said.

"Are you sure you aren't worried about Zoey and G-Dragon?" Christine asked.

"Why do you keep insisting on that?" I had my eyebrow raised, staring at the rearview mirror.

"Well, because you didn't want them to go out shopping, remember?"

"Ya, I know. But that's the least of my worries. They can do whatever they want."

"Okay," said Christine as she leaned back in her seat. "I sure hope so."

"I know so. I don't know why I feel like this. Like something's going to happen."

I continued to look out the window as I heard Christine at the back unfolding a piece of paper. She was obviously looking at the grocery list we had made.

"We're going to have a lovely supper tonight," said Christine. "Sam, did you manage to tell Collins that we won't be back early?"

"Oh, ya, I totally forgot," I said as I took my phone out of my pocket. "Thanks for reminding me, Christine."

I called Collins and he wasn't picking up. I figured he might be busy so I left him a text message instead. I made sure to leave one for Lee too.

"Just texted him, he isn't picking up," I said.

"As long as he doesn't get mad," said Taeyang.

"Ha!" said Christine. "I just don't understand our managers sometimes. We always have to tell them we're here and we're there. It's like they have to keep tabs on us all the time."

"That's just how it is, especially with you guys," said Taeyang.

"Very true."

We soon found ourselves in the parking lot of a grocery store and we got out of the car. When we entered the store, all eyes were on us as Christine got the shopping cart. Together with Taeyang we went around putting whatever was on the list in the shopping cart. I pretended not to notice the people around staring as they walked by.

We were in the vegetable aisle and I was putting in carrots and lettuce in the cart when Taeyang told us to stay right where we were and that he would be right back. He walked down the aisle and disappeared round the corner.

"I can't wait to make kimchi," said Christine. "I have to admit, trying out something new is exciting."

"Mmm, I can't wait too," I said as I got another packet of carrots and putting it in the cart. "Speaking of which, I think I'll need some strawberries."

"Really, Sam? What for?"

"To eat of course."

"Once you start to eat them, you never stop."

"True. But at least that only lasts for a day."

"Typical." Christine rolled her eyes at me and her eyes landed to the other aisle further away from us where the fruits were.

"There they are," she said. "You can go get them and I'll wait here."

"Sure thing."

I walked over to the fruit stand surpassing large refrigerators that contained cold meat, fish and even frozen ice cream. I noticed all eyes on me as I walked by. Being a celebrity can really feel weird sometimes especially when the whole world knows you.

As I approached the fruit stand, I couldn't help but lick my lips as I saw the lovely juicy strawberries. I hope nobody saw me do that. That would be embarrassing.

The strawberries were packed in plastic lunchboxes. Below where the strawberries were were oranges all stacked together. I felt like opening a lunchbox and eating a strawberry, but I had to keep my craving under control.

As I stretched out to get the strawberries, someone appeared right beside me looking at the fruits. I didn't turn in the person's direction because I turned the other way to start heading back to where Christine stood waiting for me. As I turned, I knocked over an orange from the stand with my other free hand and it fell to the floor.

"Oh, goodness," I muttered as I turned to look at the orange.

Just as I was about to bend over to pick the fruit up, the person beside me had also bent over to pick it. And then.....

"Ouch!"

"Aish!"

We'd bumped heads. And it hurt a lot. We both straightened up holding our heads.

As we stared at each other, I couldn't help but smile. I could tell he was smiling back at me even if he wore a face mask on. As I stared back at him, I couldn't help but feel like he seemed familiar.

His blonde hair fell close to his beautiful eyes and I couldn't help but look at him and he couldn't stop looking back at me. I noticed his pupils dilate. He looked surprised to see me. Where have I seen those eyes before?

"Sam!"

I almost jumped in fright by the sound of Christine's voice. I turned to her direction and she was right where I had left her. Taeyang was standing right beside her and she beckoned with her hand telling me to come back.

I nodded my head at her telling her that I would be right there. I went back to looking at the person before me. I couldn't help but feel that I knew who the person was but I couldn't figure out who. I yearned to know because right now, my heart was racing. I felt so excited, yet so nervous. I had to know who this person is. If I walk away now, this moment will be burned in my memory and I would be haunted forever just at the thought of his beautiful eyes.

I bent over to pick up the orange and I could tell his eyes still remained fixed on me. I felt like he was watching my every move. When I straightened up and put the orange back on the stand, I went back to looking at him.

"Mianhae (미안해) (Sorry)," I apologised, my eyes never leaving his.

I couldn't help it, I just had to know who he is. But I was running out of time. What was I going to do now?

"Sam? Black Kitty? Right?" he asked.

My heart skipped a beat. Even his voice sounded familiar and I felt like singing "Hallelujah!" out loud. For whatever reason, only God knows. Not only did he look surprised, he sounded surprised too. That voice. I just couldn't recall where I have heard it from.

"Yes," I said, trying to figure out what else to say next. "That's me. And...who might you be?"

He didn't hesitate to take his mask off and everything happened so suddenly. As he was removing his mask, a group of guys came round the corner entering the fruit aisle behind him. Everything then went in slow motion and as soon as the mask fell away from his face, I gasped.

Jimin stood right in front of me looking as surprised as ever and the rest of BTS had come around the corner behind him. When they saw me, they all paused. Now I was even more nervous and excited than ever before.

"J....Jimin?" I looked behind him. "B...BTS?" Now I was the one who was asking.

"Aigoo! Is that BK? Like 'The Black Kitty?'" RM asked with a surprised look on his face.

Right now, I felt like I was about to faint. I had just bumped heads with Jimin and the rest of BTS just showed up out of the blue. I couldn't even think right at the moment. This was probably the weird yet best day of my life.

I couldn't help my excitement as I tried to say something but I was completely lost for words. The rest of BTS couldn't say a word either as we all looked at each other wondering what to do or say next. This was a lot to take in.

It was until a scream broke out and echoed throughout the store that we were woken up from our little shock. And it was pretty obvious who could be screaming like a crazy lunatic.

"OMG! It's BTS!" Christine exclaimed.


	9. Chapter 8: "We Are EXO."

Zoey's P.O.V:

"Are you sure Sam will like it if you get her a gift?" I asked as I looked at G-Dragon.

"Of course she will," he answered with a smile on his face, his eyes fixed on the road as he drove. "You know, she hasn't fully forgiven me yet."

I raised an eyebrow. "She hasn't?"

"Nope."

I groaned as I stared up at the ceiling of the car. Sam could be really difficult sometimes.

"I thought she meant it when she told me she forgave you," I said.

"She really didn't. She gave me one weird explanation and I knew she didn't mean it."

I sulked. "Sam is one big fat liar."

"A 'pretty' big fat liar," G-Dragon emphasised. "You got to admit, she's really good at it."

"One of her many talents." I smiled at him but it soon fell away.

"So, what can I get her?"

"I don't think getting her a gift will be enough for her to forgive you."

"What do you mean? I thought ladies love gifts."

I shrugged my shoulders. "You're right on that part. But one thing you should know about Sam is that she's different. She's practically those girls people refer to as a 'rare species.'"

G-Dragon burst out laughing and when he turned to look at me, he stopped. I wasn't laughing and I definitely wasn't joking.

"Oh, you're serious," G-Dragon blushed as he fixed his eyes back on the road.

"When I mean that, I mean she's special," I said with a smile. "Someone like her needs something extraordinary. So if you're buying her a gift, then it should be something that will mean something to her forever. Almost like that pendant."

"So what do you think I should get her?"

"Mmmm, I don't know," I said as I thought for a bit. "That's why I think instead of buying her something, you should do something for her instead."

"Don't you think you should've told me that earlier?"

"I thought we were going shopping together, not getting Sam a gift."

I could see him roll his eyes. "Sorry. I thought you got the catch that we were going for Sam's sake."

"Sam's sake or yours?"

G-Dragon raised the corner of his lip into a smile. "Fine, my sake."

"Don't worry. You brought the right person for this. We'll find Sam something and she will totally forgive you. But just in case she doesn't, you better do something memorable for her."

G-Dragon groaned. "Why is Sam so difficult? I mean, she may seem ordinary, but she's different."

"That's why she's special," I smirked. "She can make any guy break into a sweat just to impress her and she doesn't have to lift a finger. Just like you."

"Are you making fun of me?" G-Dragon didn't turn to look at me when he asked.

"Maybe." I folded my arms with a smile and went on to look in front of me.

We soon found ourselves at Myeong-dong. I remember coming to this place for the first time after landing here in Korea. I think this was the best place to start looking for the perfect gift. I had to think of something real quick or else G-Dragon might just lose it. Though he did seem calm on the face, in the inside, I could tell he was losing it.

As we got out of his car and looked over at the Myeong-dong shopping centre across the road, he asked:

"Have you thought of what we can buy for her?"

The two of us quickly crossed the road when it was clear. We were clearly jaywalking even when there were no cars around. We got to the other side safely. "Not yet," I answered.

"I thought you already figured it out."

"Well, sorry. I'm not actually sidekick to know what Sam wants," I complained as the two of us walked towards the multi-storey building. "Trust me, even buying her a birthday gift is hard on my part."

"You're her best friend."

"Ya, but that doesn't mean she tells me what she wants like any other best friend would do." We soon walked through the wide open doors of the building finding ourselves in the lobby. "Sam isn't an open book where you can see everything. She's one where you've to read in between the lines to fully understand her."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Of course you do," I said sarcastically. "And I think I know just what to get her."

"What?"

"Do you have any antique shop around here?"

G-Dragon and I soon went up the escalator. And he gave me a surprised look.

"Why would you want to go to an antique shop?"

"If you want the perfect gift for Sam then an antique shop is the best place to start looking."

G-Dragon raised an eyebrow at me and I didn't say a word till we got to the top. We looked at each other as we got off the escalator and I could tell G-Dragon was contemplating over what I had just said.

"Are you sure we'll find a perfect gift for her there?"

"We've to try," I answered as I shrugged my shoulders. "Sam really likes things that are old, beautiful and has a special meaning."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Now, can we go? Because you and I are capturing a lot of attention at the moment."

G-Dragon and I looked around and we noticed people looking our way. Some even had their phones out to take pictures.

"Come on, I know just the place," he said as he started to walk away and I followed.

As we passed by some stores, I couldn't help but look at things on display. As we were passing the Gucci store, I saw a fancy looking outfit on a mannequin. The mannequin wore a fancy black leather jacket, a fancy black vest, a tight black and gold stripe fitting skirt with black fancy high heeled shoes. The mannequin even held a black and gold fancy Gucci handbag. The gold metal Gucci logo on the bag gleamed brightly under the lights. I couldn't stop looking at the outfit. I was in love.

"GD, look," I said as I held his arm and dragging him back, still looking at the mannequin on display.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Have you seen that outfit?" I pointed at the display window.

"Don't tell me you plan on buying that for Sam?" G-Dragon looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"No, it's for me, silly. Come on."

I dragged him with me to the Gucci store and fifteen minutes later, I was walking out with a smile on my face and two shopping bags with the outfit in one and the Gucci handbag in another.

"For a moment, I thought you were helping me out with buying Sam a gift, not getting one yourself," said G-Dragon as he followed behind me.

"Well, we did say we were coming here to shop, didn't we?" I asked as I gave him a smile.

"Okay, can we go now?"

"Sure. Lead the way. Aww, I can't wait to show the girls what I just bought." I giggled as I looked in the shopping bag. "They would be so jealous."

"Whatever," G-Dragon muttered to himself as he led the way and I happily followed behind him.

We were soon approaching the antique store when something else again caught my eye.

A few stores before the antique one was a store that had something behind the display window that made my mouth drop.

There were cardboard images of EXO. "The EXO." All nine of them. I couldn't help but look at each one of their faces. They looked so cool and so cute for cardboard images. Sometimes being a fangirl can be one heck of a serious problem because I couldn't take my eyes off of them.

"Zoey?" came G-Dragon's voice as he waved his hand close to my face.

"Huh?" I turned to look at him.

"Don't tell me you are fangirling over EXO?"

"Is that a crime?" I asked, with a smile. I bet it was a stupid one. But I didn't care as I went back to looking at the cardboard images. "Looks like they will be having a concert soon." I went to looking at the cardboard announcement right next to the EXO images. It was written in Korean but there was a translation right after it.

"Zoey, focus!" He snapped his fingers in front of my face. "We came here for something, not EXO."

"Okay, but, I want to go to their concert," I said as I looked at G-Dragon with a whining tune in my voice.

He shrugged his shoulders and it could clearly show on his face that he was really annoyed. "So?" he asked.

"Is it possible for me to get a ticket?"

"Have you clearly forgotten what we came here for?"

I looked at him as I tried to remember but my mind was completely filled with images of EXO. That was strange. What were we here for again?

"Zoey!"

I almost jumped in the air with fright and almost dropping the bags in my hands. I realised I was still right where I stood facing G-Dragon. He folded his arms.

"You're daydreaming," he said.

"No, I wasn't." I blushed as I shook my head.

"You're dreamy eyed and lost in the clouds. You're thinking of EXO, aren't you?"

"No." I lied again.

"Really? Then why are we here?"

"Ummmm." I scratched my head, closed my eyes and started to stump my foot hard on the floor. People would have thought of me as a human with a dog attitude. I stopped what I was doing as my eyes flew open.

"We came here to find Sam a gift," I said proudly, snapping my fingers.

G-Dragon looked at me and he looked at his cool fancy Daniel Klein wristwatch saying, "you just took four minutes to answer that question."

I felt my eyes could pop out of their sockets any moment. "For real?"

"I asked you the same question two times and you took four minutes to answer."

"Oh." I felt really embarrassed as I scratched my head. "Looks like I was clearly daydreaming."

"Can we think about this later and go get Sam a gift first?"

"Oh, okay," I said with a sigh as I looked at the cardboard images. "There will be time for that next time."

I noticed the words below the cardboard images which said, "We Are One. We Are EXO." I ended up smiling to myself.

"Come on, let's go," said G-Dragon as he started off.

I was about to follow G-Dragon when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I noticed a reflection of someone on the display window where the EXO cardboard images stood. I stopped and looked at the window, but I didn't see anyone unusual. All I saw were people's reflection walking behind me and they all looked to be minding their own business.

I shrugged my shoulders brushing off what I might have seen and I quickly caught up with G-Dragon who was already at the antique shop and staring at things on display.

"Are you sure we can find something in here?" G-Dragon asked when I stood right beside him.

"We've to go inside to check, don't we?" I suggested.

As I turned to start heading into the store, I hadn't noticed that someone was standing right beside me, also looking at the items through the display window. He had a pair of expensive shades on and for some reason, I couldn't help but look at him. Must be his hair that was dyed in a striking red colour.

"I noticed that you have been looking at me for a while," said the guy still looking at the display window.

"Huh?" I was a little confused. "But I just started staring at you now."

He turned to look at me and removed his shades. My jaw suddenly dropped.

"I noticed you were looking at the EXO cardboard images," said Chanyeol with a gorgeous smile. "Thats what I meant."

"I...I....I," I stammered as I tried to say something straight. But I couldn't. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.

"You're Zoey, right?" he asked. "I was pretty sure it was you but I had to be close to look at you and confirm it."

"You....me.....I.....you're....you're....," I gulped as I pointed a finger at him.  
My eyes bulged. "EXO."

"Ya, and you're Zoey from The Toxins."

I felt like I was going to faint. This felt so surreal. Chanyeol was standing right in front of me. And he knew who I was. He knew ME! I wanted to scream and shout like I usually do whenever I see my favourite celebrities. But this time I couldn't and I didn't know why.

"Oh, no," said G-Dragon behind me. "This cannot be happening."

Chanyeol waved happily at G-Dragon and I continued to look on at his handsome face. I felt like I was floating in the clouds looking at him.

"Zoey?" G-Dragon called out to me though it felt like his voice was a million miles away.

"Mmmm." I muttered with a smile as I tilted my head to the side, still staring at Chanyeol.

"I think we better start going. Don't you think?"

"No." I giggled as I looked at G-Dragon.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered.

Just as I turned to look at Chanyeol, I noticed someone coming behind him. When I tilted my head a little more, I almost fell to the floor when I noticed who was coming our way.

"Chan!" Kai called out to Chanyeol as he came towards us. Chanyeol turned to look behind him.

"Kai?" I went around Chanyeol and started to approach Kai.

Kai stopped upon seeing me and he looked totally surprised, just as I was with seeing him.

"Oh, it really is you," said Kai.

"I told you it was Zoey," said Chanyeol.

"Wow," I said as my eyes never left Kai's face. "You're even way hotter in person."

Chanyeol laughed behind me and I could already imagine G-Dragon shaking his head, probably annoyed. I could clearly see Kai blushing over my comment and he was speechless.

Just as things couldn't get any better, the rest of EXO suddenly appeared behind Kai, coming out of a store. At first, they looked left and right down the hall, obviously looking for Chanyeol and Kai. When they spotted them, their mouths dropped upon seeing me. And I, smiled at them and waved.

They didn't say anything but looked at me the whole time and I looked back at them. This definitely didn't feel real. Just minutes ago, I was looking at cardboard images of them and now they were standing before me in real life. It's like the cardboard images just came to life themselves.

Just after the thought of that, I soon discovered my scream as I dropped the bags I was carrying and jumped, feeling like the happiest person in the world.

Just after the thought of that, I soon discovered my scream as I dropped the bags I was carrying and jumped, feeling like the happiest person in the world


	10. Chapter 9: Lovestuck

Sam's P.O.V

Just as Taeyang and I were about to get out of the car, Daesung and Seungri appeared, coming out of the apartment building. I called them a few minutes ago before we parked outside telling them to come help us out with the groceries.

"Hey, guys," said Seungri, cheerfully as we got out of the car. "Did you guys get a lot of stuff?"

"Ummmm, we did, actually," I answered as I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and closed the car door.

"We better start taking these things up," said Taeyang as he went to get some of the grocery bags at the passenger's seat.

"You don't worry about the bags, Sam," said Daesung. "We'll take care of it from here. You must be exhausted."

"Oh, no, it's fine," I said. "I wouldn't mind carrying some at all."

Seungri went to open the other side of the door to the passenger's side and found Christine seated there staring at her phone.

"Oh, I completely forgot that Christine went along with you guys," said Seungri.

"Christine," I called out to her. "Can you please get out of the car so that we can get the groceries?"

Christine didn't respond and kept on looking at her phone as though I hadn't said a word with a weird crazy smile on her face. She had been like that for a really long time now. Seungri and Daesung looked on at her while I rolled my eyes and Taeyang on the other side had already carried some grocery bags in his hands and was ready to go up to the apartment.

"What's wrong with her?" Seungri asked.

"She's been like that since the whole way here," Taeyang answered.

"Mind telling us why?" Daesung asked.

I looked over at Taeyang and he also looked back at me. I didn't know what to say about what happened at the store. Although it was easy enough to spit it out, for some reason, I couldn't.

Seungri and Daesung looked at the both of us, wondering what was going on.

"Aren't you two going to say anything or are you going to just stare at each other?" Daesung asked.

I scratched my head. "Well, it's complicated."

Seungri looked on at Christine and bent over to stare at her more closely. He waved a hand across her face. She didn't budge or react at all. She was as still as a statue.

"What's wrong with her?" Seungri asked again as he looked at me. "Because right now, she's looking like a lunatic and that worries me."

"Sam will tell you," said Taeyang. "She'll explain it better than I ever will."

"Tae, but...."

I soon realised that it was no use stopping Taeyang as he walked up the stairs to the entrance and entered the lobby. I looked on as he went. Now, I was all alone to give an explanation to Daesung and Seungri. A pretty dumb one if you ask me.

"What's going on, Sam?" Daesung asked. I turned to look at both him and Seungri. "One thing's for sure, something happened to Christine for her to be in this state and you're going to tell us why."

I opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn't. I went on to look at Christine and she was still smiling like a fool, staring at her phone and tapping on it, doing whatever. Only Taeyang and I knew why she was behaving like this. It seemed unfair to keep the others in the dark. They were bound to find out eventually.

"Okay, fine, I'll tell you," I said. "But can we get her out of the car first?"

"Christine?" Seungri called out to her as he held her shoulder and shook her.

"Mmmmm," Christine muttered as she finally took her eyes off her phone and stared up at Seungri.

I folded my arms. "Well, that was easy," I said. "She wasn't responding to either Taeyang or me the whole way back here."

"Wait? We're here already?" Christine asked as she looked at her surrounding outside the car. She seemed very surprised.

"You never noticed, Christine?" Daesung asked, with a surprised look on his face.

"How could she notice where she is if all she could ever look at the entire time on her phone was BTS?" I said.

Seungri and Daesung both turned to look at me at the same time, taking in what I said. Christine sighed at the mention of BTS and went all dreamy eyed.

I didn't want to say it out in a rude way but I just couldn't stand the sight of Christine looking like a loony any more. Getting her into the car the time we were done with grocery shopping was more than enough to put me on edge. It was worse off when she didn't say anything to either Taeyang and I in the car.

"Ooh," Seungri gave a small laugh. "So, she met BTS. That explains everything."

"Sorry, if in any way I sounded a little rude," I said.

"No biggie," said Daesung. "At least you don't look as stupid as Christine is right now."

The three of us both stared at Christine hoping she would react to the comment but she didn't say a word. This time, she was up in the clouds and smiling to herself. Well, her beautiful utopia was about to get ruined and I was glad that I would be taking the liberty of doing so.

"Come on, Christine," I said as I grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her out of the car. She almost fell to the ground but she was quick enough to balance her body with her legs.

"Whoa, Sam," she said looking a bit surprised at how much strength I put in to drag her out. "Be gentle, please."

"You should be glad I didn't slap you in the face because that wouldn't be as gentle as what I have done now," I said.

"I never knew you had that much strength, Sam," said Seungri with a grin on his face.

"She should have been a boxer if you ask me," said Christine as she sulked.

"Then I would just knock your teeth out so that you wouldn't be able to smile for BTS or for anyone for that matter, ever again," I said.

"I'll keep my mouth shut," said Christine as she covered her mouth with her free hand.

"Okay, let's go," I said still holding her elbow. "I'm afraid if I leave you alone, you might just head to someone else's apartment."

"I'm fine, Sam. I swear. You don't have to drag me around like a little kid, you know?" Christine protested.

I didn't listen to her as I dragged her with me anyway. I could hear Daesung and Seungri chuckle to themselves as Christine and I went up to the entrance and found ourselves in the lobby, heading for the elevator.

The two of us entered BigBang's apartment through the already open door. Taeyang was in the kitchen packing what we bought while my brothers and TOP were in the living room like I expected they would. My brothers were still playing video games as TOP watched them play.

TOP looked our way as he noticed us come in and so did my brothers who soon paused the game.

"What took you girls so long?" TOP asked. "Taeyang said something was wrong with Christine." He looked at Christine. "Are you okay?"

"I wouldn't be asking her that question because she's not," I said as I let go of her elbow. She winced and held it dearly.

"You really hurt me, Sam," Christine whined. "If you weren't my cousin, I would sue you."

"Well, I wouldn't be the one getting sued today after what you just did at the grocery store," I said with my hands on my hips.

"What did she do?" Daniel asked, turning his body fully to look at us.

Taeyang laughed behind us in the kitchen. "It was so funny," he said.

"I'll let Christine tell you," I said as I turned around to head towards the kitchen. "All this has made me pretty thirsty."

"So, what happened?" Mike asked Christine as I went to the fridge and took out a jug of water and went to the cabinet to get a glass.

"Please, don't ask," said Christine. I saw her join the others in the living room and slept on the couch opposite from where TOP sat with her hand covering her eyes. "It's so embarrassing now that I think about it."

"You can never do anything embarrassing," said TOP. "You, Christine are too sweet for that."

"I beg to differ," I said, the glass close to my lips as I took a sip of water. Taeyang who stood beside me laughed even more.

"Ya, there are times when Christine could be crazy," said Daniel. "But not as much as Zoey, of course."

"This time, she went overboard," I said.

"Almost like Zoey?" Mike asked as he looked at me.

"Yep. But not as much as Zoey of course."

Mike looked at Christine who still slept on the couch like some person who had had a long night of partying and was completely wasted.

"Tell us, Christine!" Mike insisted. "Now I'm curious."

Just as Mike was insisting, Daesung and Seungri came in through the open door carrying grocery bags.

"Hey, Christine!" Seungri called out to her as he came into the kitchen with Daesung. "Tell us what happened when you met BTS?"

"Oh, goodness," said Christine as she sat up to look at Seungri. "Seungri!"

"What?" Seungri had already put the grocery bags on the kitchen table and shrugged his shoulders. "I was just asking."

Christine groaned out loudly in frustration as she fell back onto the couch. Mike and Daniel looked on at her, both their mouths agape.

"You met BTS?" Daniel asked not believing it.

"Oh, now I see why she's so upset," said Seungri. "Hope she isn't mad."

I patted Seungri on the shoulder. "No, she isn't. Don't worry about it," I said. I went to rinse the glass in the sink.

"Christine, come on," said Mike. "Say something. How was it meeting BTS?"

"Don't ask," she said as she stared at the ceiling. "It was embarrassing."

"Really embarrassing," Taeyang and I said at the same time.

"Please, not another word," said Christine as she sat up and held her head in her hands.

"Why?" I asked. "As much as it was so embarassing, you would have been in serious trouble with what you did."

"What did she do?" Daesung asked.

I went to join the others in the living room, sitting next to Christine. I started to tell them how I unexpectedly bumped heads with Jimin, in the process, meeting the rest of BTS who also came to do some shopping.

"Let me guess," said Mike. "Christine screamed like a lunatic and ran towards BTS, right?"

"Yep, but in the process, she caused quite a havoc," I said as looked at Christine.

"Don't say anything more, Sam," said Christine as she clapped her hands together. "I beg you!"

"She almost killed a few people, if that's how I can put it," said Taeyang.

"How?" Daniel and Mike asked at the same time.

"I bumped into a lady while I was running and she ended up hitting a guy with her cart. The cart pushed the guy and he almost found himself in those refrigerators," Christine answered.

"Well, I'm glad you admitted what you did," I said with a smirk.

"I wish I was there to see that," said TOP with a smile.

"That's not the only thing she did," said Taeyang.

"What else did you do, Christine?" Daesung asked sounding surprised.

"Let's just say, the guy in the refrigerator wasn't the only havoc I caused," said Christine with a wince afterwards. "I kind of got everyone in the aisle all pushed aside and trolleys bumping into each other causing some kind of trolley traffic."

"All that, just for BTS," said Daniel rolling his eyes.

"Hey, if you were in my shoes, you wouldn't be saying that!" Christine snapped at him. She closed her eyes and cried, "it was so embarrassing! I bet they think I'm some crazy person."

Christine wailed out loud as though she was about to cry and leaned on my shoulder to fake cry. I shook my head and patted her on the back.

"Well, at least no one got hurt," I said. "Though she would've been sued if it wasn't for Taeyang. And BTS themselves."

"She's one lucky girl for sure," said Taeyang. "I bet that is all over entertainment news already."

"Collins is so going to kill me," said Christine as she stopped leaning her head on my shoulder and looked at me.

"It was nothing but an accident," I said. "A horrible one for that matter."

"You see! I can't even go on social media because everyone is probably talking about it."

"Christine, it's okay," said Seungri as he came to the living room and sat next to Christine's other side. "People are bound to talk anyway. Besides, who wouldn't notice BTS, Sam, Taeyang and you all in one place?"

"If you put it like that, it sounds fine. But I caused a pandemonium. Do you know what that's like?" Christine asked as she looked at Seungri.

"And it was in front of BTS for that matter," said Mike as he started to laugh. "I better check what people are saying about this." He pulled out his phone from his pocket.

"Ooh, this is so bad," said Christine. "Now that I think of what I've done, BTS would probably never want to see me again."

"With all those selfies you took and exchanging phone numbers, they would want to see you again," I said with a smile.

"You think so?"

I rolled my eyes. "You worry too much. All they did was laugh at the situation. And the customers you bumped into weren't as angry as the manager of the store, who of course wanted to sue you."

"I should have gone with Zoey shopping instead." Christine sulked.

"Then you wouldn't have met BTS," said TOP. "You're a lucky girl because not every fangirl gets to meet them face to face, you know?"

"I bet Zoey and G-Dragon had a smooth time. Unlike us."

"Something tells me they are also in for a wild afternoon," I said. "Remember when I was acting all nervous and jumpy and said that something was going to happen on our way to the store?"

"Yep," said Taeyang as he and Daesung came into the living room area. "Must have been your intuition talking."

"And you just gained another ten points on your intuition, Sam," said Mike as he was staring at his phone. "Guess who Zoey met at the mall?"

Just before I could ask any further, the door to the apartment flew open and G-Dragon came in. Surprisingly, he was carrying Zoey over his shoulder and Zoey was screaming and kicking her legs in the air.

"GD! Put me down! I'm not a sack of potatoes you can easily carry around, you know!" Zoey wailed. Her legs kicking frantically in the air.

"Can you shut up, Zoey!" G-Dragon also protested.

"Until you put me down!" Zoey started to hit G-Dragon on his back. "Who do you think you're!"

"Zoey!" I stood up from the couch. "What's going on?"

Zoey stopped kicking and hitting G-Dragon. "Sam?" She sounded surprised to hear my voice. G-Dragon made her feet touch the floor and Zoey quickly turned to stare at the rest of us in the living room.

"Oh, we're back in the apartment?" she asked with a surprised look on her face.

"Where do you think I was taking you?" G-Dragon asked with an irritated look on his face. "The mental hospital? Although that's one place you should be to be honest."

"I couldn't agree more," said Mike with a grin.

"Oh, keep quiet, Mike!" Zoey snapped.

"Why did you have to bring her in like that?" Daesung asked G-Dragon.

"You should have seen the state she was in," said G-Dragon. "I had to lift her up from the car because she wasn't responding to me the whole time. She was just staring at pics on her phone, looking all dreamy eyed."

My left eyebrow raised. That was exactly how Christine was the whole time we drove here. I turned to look at Mike.

"Who did Zoey meet?" I asked.

"I'm glad you asked," said Mike as he smiled at me. "EXO."

"WHAT!" Christine stood up from couch staring at Mike, looking all surprised, that she looked like a lunatic. I quickly held her shoulder and gently pushed her back down.

"Why didn't you ask me instead?" Zoey asked.

"Because just like you," started Taeyang, "Christine was also in the same condition you were."

"Really?" G-Dragon asked.

"Yep," said Daniel. "And guess who these guys met when they went shopping for groceries?"

"Who?" Zoey asked.

"BTS," Christine answered.

Zoey's mouth dropped. "You're kidding! For real?"

"You should check out the 'supermarket fiasco' online," said Mike. "It's classic."

Zoey screamed and went to join Christine who also started screaming with her and they held hands, jumping up and down in excitement.

"You met EXO?" Christine asked

"You met BTS?" Zoey also asked. "I can't believe it!"

"AAAAHHH!" They both screamed with glee and hugged each other.

"Gosh, my ears are about to burst," said Daniel as he stuck a finger in his ear and shook.

"Tell me about it," said TOP.

"Do you want to hear my side of the story?" Zoey asked.

"No!" most of us replied and I quickly took my leave with Seungri behind me. Daesung and Taeyang followed too.

"Now that I think of it, Daniel and I didn't get the chance to look around the apartment," said Mike.

"I'll show you guys around," said TOP.

Mike, Daniel and TOP got up and also left the living room, heading down the hall.

"Okay, you guys are missing out," Zoey called out to us.

"I think I've had enough drama for today," I said when I walked into the kitchen and started checking for strawberries in one of the grocery bags on the table.

Seungri came to stand beside me, bumping into me in the process. I looked at him.

"What's wrong, Seungri?" I asked as I went back to looking for the strawberries.

"How come you're not like them?" Seungri asked jerking his head towards the living room area where Zoey excitedly talked to Christine about how she met EXO.

"Trust me, I've no idea," I said as I smiled. "I was also as excited as Christine with meeting BTS. Am a huge fan."

"Hearing you say that makes me jealous," said Seungri with a frown.

"Me too," said G-Dragon, who looked irritated and tired as he went to the fridge to get the jug of water out. "At least you're not acting like a lunatic like they are or else I would've locked you up."

"In a mental hospital?" I asked not looking at him.

"In my room."

I turned to look at G-Dragon behind me and he smiled. I quickly looked away feeling irritated. I had to control myself from blushing as I continued to look for my strawberries. Even from his body language, I could tell Seungri was irritated too.

"Ah!" I said excitedly. "Found my yummy strawberries." I took the plastic lunchbox of strawberries.

"You really love strawberries, don't you?" Taeyang asked as he came to finish packing up.

"You've no idea," I said with a smile as I went over to the sink to have the strawberries washed.

"I bet your lips taste like delicious strawberries," said Seungri.

I paused by the sink, not saying a word and G-Dragon who was getting a glass from the cabinet next to me almost dropped it to the floor.

"Don't say that, Seungri," I said gaining my composure and turning to face him. "Speaking of which, I should have joined the others looking around the apartment."

"Want me to go with you?" Daesung asked.

"Yes, please," I said as I quickly went to join him standing in the hall, with the plastic lunchbox in my hands. I turned towards Seungri and G-Dragon who looked at me. "You two shouldn't follow me."

They both groaned and muttered "fine" at the same time.

I went down the hall with Daesung as I took a strawberry and put it in my mouth. We turned round the corner and we found a set of doors on either side of the hall.

"Want to check the bedrooms first?" Daesung asked.

"Ya, that's okay," I said with a strawberry still in my mouth.

He chuckled and I looked at him. "What?" I asked.

"You sound really funny with that strawberry in your mouth," he replied. "You also looked really cute."

If I hadn't swallowed my strawberry earlier, I would have choked on it. Instead, I stared down the hall, blushing.

"So, what's in this room?" I asked going to the nearest door to my right.

"Oh, that's TOP's room," said Daesung as he opened the door for me. I took a sneak peak of the room and we moved on to the next one.

After looking through all the rooms, we found TOP and my two brothers in the laundry room.

"You also came around for a tour?" TOP asked me as Daesung and I entered the room.

"Just like you, I'm not ready for Zoey's tattletales," I said. "Not yet, at least. I'll have to listen to her at some point."

"Tell me about it," said Daniel rolling his eyes.

"But all of this has happened so suddenly, don't you think?" Mike asked. "I mean, you, Sam, meeting BTS and Zoey meeting EXO."

"I've to admit, it's not all that strange but rather exciting," I said with a smile as I put a strawberry in my mouth.

"Don't tell me you're a huge fan of them both?" TOP asked.

"Well, ya," I answered, still chewing. "Is it wrong? I mean, they are all super talented. And cute too."

TOP and Daesung winced at the same time. I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't like it when you say that," said TOP.

"Ya," said Daesung. "I'm almost getting jealous."

Mike groaned. "Goodness, guys," he said. "Can't a fangirl like more than one k-pop group without the other getting jealous? What's weird is that you aren't even complaining about Zoey and Christine goggling over BTS and EXO."

"Is that a bad thing?" Daesung asked.

"No, that just shows how much you like my sister," said Mike with a smirk. "Not leaving out G-Dragon and Seungri of course."

"Just keep quiet, Mike," I said. I could feel my cheeks start to heat up but I immediately brushed that off as best as I could. "Can we please go back?"

"Do you think they are done talking?" Daniel asked referring to Zoey and Christine.

"I guess so. If I'm right, they are probably looking at photos again. Let's go check."

The five of us all went back to the living room and we found Christine and Zoey on the couch, with their heads touching and they were both looking down at Zoey's phone, quiet.

Taeyang, G-Dragon and Seungri were still in the kitchen looking over at the odd pair on the couch. The expression on their faces was one I couldn't discribe even from a distance.

"What's going on?" I asked as joined them in the kitchen.

"I don't know," said Taeyang. "One minute they were talking and the next thing I know, they were silent."

I watched the two on the couch and I could see my two brothers slowly approach them from behind. They were trying to scare them.

"What are you doing?" I whispered to them.

"What do you think we're doing?" Mike asked. "They won't even get spooked. Just watch."

They soon got closer to Christine and Zoey and my brothers screamed "BOO!" so loudly they could even wake up a sleeping baby. But the two girls didn't jump in fright. In fact, they sighed in unison as they continued to stare at the photos.

"See, I told you," said Mike as he looked at he rest of us behind him.

"Forget it, they are lovestruck," I said, putting the last strawberry in my mouth.

"Lovestruck?" Seungri asked.

"Yep. Since meeting their idols, they aren't thinking straight and all they can think of is them," I said. "They love them as fans, but seeing them in person just made them deeply fall in love on a personal level. Well, that's how I see it."

"If they are lovestruck by their k-pop idols, I for one, am lovestruck by you," said Seungri as he came to hug me from behind me, leaning his head on mine

I rolled my eyes by his gesture. But surprisingly, I smiled and at the same time, blushed.

"Okay, you can stop hugging me now, Seungri," I said.

"I don't think I want to. You're like a stuffed panda that's so nice and comforting to hug."

Zoey suddenly turned to look at us and said, "awwwh! How cute! Just like you're hugging Sam, I want to hug EXO."

"Which one?" Daniel asked.

Zoey gave him a lopsided grin. To be honest, it looked really creepy. "I don't know," she answered.

"Figured," said TOP. "Are you two done lovey doving over those cute boys of yours?"

"Wait, hold on for a second," said Christine, still staring at the phone then she blacked the screen by pressing the power button and put the phone away. "Okay, done."

"Good," said Taeyang. "Now why don't we order pizza for lunch and watch a movie?"

"Great idea," I said.

"So what movie are we going to watch?" Daesung asked.

"I'm up for a romantic movie," said Zoey as she stood up.

"Me too," said Christine, clapping her hands with glee.

"Whose up for one of my action movies?" TOP asked.

Everyone else raised their hands except Christine and Zoey. The majority always wins.

"Come on, you guys are so unfair," Christine complained.

"Please, we don't want to watch a romantic movie when all you'll be imagining in those heads of yours are BTS and EXO," said G-Dragon.

"Fine," Zoey muttered as she fell back on her seat with her arms folded. I bet she had a scorn on her face.

"I'll order the pizza," said Seungri as he stopped hugging me and walked away from the kitchen heading down the hall.

"I'll go check for a cool movie we can watch," said TOP, as he also followed Seungri down the hall.

"Tae," I said looking at Taeyang who stood behind me. "Maybe you should invite Hyo-rin tonight for dinner. If that's okay. It will be so nice if she comes."

"Perfect," said Taeyang as he smiled at me and pulled out his phone. "I'll text her to see if she can manage to come tonight."

"I ordered for pizza and it will be here in ten minutes," announced Seungri as he appeared.

"I'll go try and freshen up," said G-Dragon as he rubbed his neck and groaned in frustration. "All this thing with Zoey was such a burden."

"Hey!" Zoey protested as she turned to look at G-Dragon.

"I'm not lying, am I? Besides, you're ten times heavier than a cow that I don't even know how I managed not to collapse onto the floor."

My brothers burst out laughing first, then Daesung, Seungri and I followed next. Christine who was next to Zoey tried her best not to laugh as she covered her mouth. Taeyang didn't laugh at all.

"You're so going to be sorry for this, GD," Zoey threatened.

"Okay, enough, you two," I said, a laugh still urging to come out of my mouth. "I don't want it to be like a usual 'Mike and Zoey' fight episode."

Zoey rolled her eyes at G-Dragon and he did the same to her and left for his room. The rest of us continued to laugh. Taeyang just shook his head.

As Daesung, Seungri and my two brothers went to the living room to settle down, I immediately received a message on my phone. Thinking that it might be Collins, I was surprised to see that it wasn't him. I checked the message and it sent me smiling.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Taeyang asked as he came to stand right beside me.

I gave him a smile and I showed him the message on my phone. He looked at it and then at me.

"Oh," was all he could say. He seemed as surprised as I was.

And this time around, I was the one who was lovestruck.


	11. Chapter 10: We MeeT Again

We had a wonderful dinner last night with BigBang and Hyo-rin, who joined us later on that evening, courtesy of Taeyang, Christine and I since we did all the cooking. Everything turned out delicious. It was the first time I ever tried cooking different cuisines and it was exciting since Christine and I had the best chef to teach us, that is Taeyang, of course.

After supper, Collins and Lee came to pick us up, though my brothers were really insisting on staying over at BigBang's apartment for the night. But it was pointless convincing Collins. Not after what happened earlier on during the day with Zoey meeting EXO and Christine causing a mess at the grocery store after meeting BTS. He was more concerned about Christine's case because it would seriously have made her and the rest of us Toxins get into a lot of trouble.

He wasn't really mad to the point of scolding her, but he didn't talk much the whole way back to the hotel. And no one dared try to talk about BTS or EXO in the car. Much less, say anything at all.

After a good night's sleep, I was all dressed up and heading to the lounge when I heard laughter and chattering coming from the lounge. I could recognise Lee, Christine and my two brothers' voices. But there were other voices in the lounge too. There was no way Collins was here. He told us last night that he was going to have a busy day today and that he would be up early. We had cancelled our usual morning dance practise because we were exhausted from last night.

As soon as I stepped into the lounge, I stopped in my tracks. There seated with Christine, Lee and my two brothers at the dinning table were WINNER. All four of them. And they were all having breakfast. Well, this was a surprise. I didn't move as they all stopped talking and laughing immediately I appeared before them.

"Wow," I said, first looking at Mino, then Jinwoo, Seunghoon and Seungyoon. "I wasn't expecting you guys for breakfast today."

"They asked Collins' for permission to come see you and he said it was okay," said Lee. "I suggested they come over for breakfast so that you can all start the day together."

"Oookay," I said giving Lee the eyebrow. "I didn't expect Collins to even allow this."

"Why?" Seungyoon asked. "Considering what happened yesterday?"

"Ya," I replied as I went over to the dinning table and I reached out to Mino first and hugged him, wrapping my arms around his neck from behind. "But I'll admit, it's good to see you guys."

Mino smiled up at me and said, "it's good to see you too."

I hugged Jinwoo and Seunghoon in the same manner. Seunghoon in return took my hand and kissed the other side of my palm.

"Good morning, my lovely princess," he said as he smiled at me.

I gave out a smile laugh. "Morning," I said. "I've to admit, I missed you a lot, Seunghoon."

"You did?" Mike and Daniel who sat at the opposite side of the table asked at the same time, looking at me.

"Is it weird to be honest?" I asked as I looked back at them.

I didn't give them the time to answer as I went to hug Seungyoon. I sat at the end of the table where Collins usually sat.

"Well, you seem to be in a good mood this morning," said Christine who sat next to Mike. "Mind telling us why?"

"It's because of what happened yesterday, of course," I answered as I grabbed a plate and two slices of toast.

"Christine was just telling us what happened," said Jinwoo, with a cup of tea in his hand. "We read the story on the entertainment news, but we wanted to hear the story first hand ourselves."

"Explains why you were all laughing." I filled my glass with orange juice. "I'm even surprised that Christine even told you. I thought she wouldn't say a word about yesterday."

"As embarrassing as it was, I got over it," said Christine.

"I'm just waiting for Zoey to explain to me how she met EXO," said Lee.

"You don't want to hear it," I said. "I had to stay up an extra hour last night just to hear her side of the story."

"Explains why she isn't here," said Mino. "She must be exhausted."

"Maybe you can tell us, Sam," said Daniel after putting a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

"You know it's better if she tells you herself, right?" I suggested. I soon bit into my toast.

"Zoey might be a good storyteller, but she will add things that weren't even supposed to be mentioned, making the story ten times long."

"Mmmm," Lee muttered as she sipped her coffee and put the cup back down on the table. "Looks like you know Zoey after all."

"Most of us have known her forever it's like we're her best friends too," said Mike as he rolled his eyes and bit into his toast.

We all laughed, except Mike.

"You're right," I said. "You, Mike, have known her forever."

"I wonder what she would say if she heard you say that," said Seunghoon.

"Obviously lock horns with him," said Jinwoo.

"You, my friend, are very correct," said Mike as he gave a thumbs up to Jinwoo.

"Don't you think she has slept for far too long?" Christine asked as she looked at me. "It's best she wakes up now."

"No, let her rest," said Mike. "Right now, I'm enjoying my breakfast without her around. It's only nine in the morning, anyway."

"So, Sam," said Seungyoon who sat beside me. "How was it meeting BTS?"

I raised an eyebrow at him as I drank my juice. "Do you really want to know?" I asked putting the glass aside.

"I don't," said Seunghoon, not looking at me as he played with his breakfast.

"The same way I was excited meeting you guys was the same way I felt when I met BTS," I replied.

"But wasn't it that Seunghoon scared you by jumping out of the closet?" Mino asked.

"Seriously? Are you really bringing that up now?" Seunghoon asked as he looked at Mino.

"I forgot that even happened," I said with a little laugh. "But that was one totally weird surprise."

"It's always good to make an extraordinary entrance." Seunghoon smiled at me.

"Ya, it is." I smiled back.

I noticed Mino roll his eyes and apparently, they landed at the entrance of the lounge. I followed his eyes and coming into the lounge in her pink sleeping gown, was Zoey.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes. She still looked really sleepy with her hair all scruffy looking. When she looked at us at the dinning table, she tried to open her eyes wide enough, but she couldn't. She rubbed them again.

"Wait, am I dreaming or are WINNER sitting at the dinning table eating breakfast?"

"Yes, they are," Daniel answered.

Zoey's eyes flew wide open and so was her mouth as she held her face in shock. "Oh, my goodness! Morning, guys," she greeted them. "I better go take a shower. This is so embarrassing."

Zoey quickly turned back around and disappeared down the hall.

"Thank goodness," said Mike after he heard the door to the room slam shut. "As much as I didn't want to eat breakfast with her because of her tattle tales, I wasn't going to eat with her looking like that."

Christine hit Mike on the shoulder and he wailed in pain. "You take that back," she told him. "It's so not funny."

"Please, even you know Zoey always looks funny when she gets straight out of bed."

Mino laughed. "Mike's right," he said. "She does."

"So, what do you guys plan on doing today?" Lee asked changing the subject.

"I don't know," I replied. "No idea."

"Don't tell me you've to babysit us and make sure things don't get out of hand," Christine looked at Lee beside her.

"Collins told me to keep an eye on you," said Lee. "Remember that you all have to keep a low profile."

"Any suggestions?" Daniel asked as he looked across the table at WINNER.

"None at all," said Seungyoon.

"It will be so much easier for me if you're all here then," said Lee.

"No, I want to go out," said Christine.

"Same here," I said.

"Mmmm," Mike muttered to himself. "But where?"

"Ding, ding, ding!" Seunghoon exclaimed so as to draw all our attention to him. "I think I know where we should go."

"Really?" Daniel asked. "Where?"

"I'm glad you're the one who asked, Daniel, because you and Mike are going to love it."

"Okay," said Christine, shifting with excitement in her seat. "Even I am anxious."

"Why not go to an arcade?"

Christine's mouth dropped open and my two brothers muttered "yes!" and high fived each other. Lee on the other hand, didn't say a word. I, eventually smiled at Christine.

"An arcade?" Christine asked as she scratched her head.

"You don't seem to like the idea," said Jinwoo as he looked at her.

"I don't know," Christine seemed to be thinking to herself whether to agree. "When was the last time I ever went to an arcade back home?"

"It's been forever," said Mike.

"And where we're going is the hottest arcade spot in town," said Seunghoon as he winked at Christine. "It's totally legit. You won't regret it."

"It's Funny Land, isn't it?" Seungyoon asked.

Seunghoon nodded his head with a smile. "The same one."

"Even the name sounds fun," said Mike. He turned to look at Lee. "Can we go, Lee?"

"I think it won't hurt to go there," said Lee. "Since you boys love to play video games all the time and you don't give the chance for the girls to showcase their gaming talent."

"Well, I know Sam is a lot of a gamer than Christine and Zoey," said Daniel.

"You're a gamer, Sam?" Mino asked.

"Well," I shrugged my shoulders. "I was a lot of a gamer during my school years. I still am though I just prefer to watch my brothers when I have the time to understand the game."

"I'm also just a spectator," said Christine.

"Ya, but you can play on those arcade games too," said Mike. "I remember the last time we had fun at the arcade, you never wanted to leave."

"That's why I don't want what happened then to ever happen again." Christine rolled her eyes.

"Come on, that day was your birthday, wasn't it?" I asked. "I saw no reason for you to want to play some more."

"I'll admit, it was one of the best birthdays ever," said Christine as she smiled.

"So it's settled then?" Jinwoo asked. "We're going to Funny Land?"

"Definitely," the four of us Toxins answered at the same time.

"Whoa," Lee warned us as she held her hands up in mid-air, "before we decide on anything, we have to ask Zoey too."

"For a moment there, I thought you were going to mention Collins," said Mike.

"Yes, he has to know too, though I don't think he would mind. As long as we don't cause mayhem like what happened yesterday." Lee and each one of us at the table turned to look at Christine.

"What? It was just that one time," said Christine shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't think Zoey would mind going to the arcade," said Seungyoon. "For starter's, it's one fun place to go to."

"Zoey is a little difficult with such things," I said. "She can play a simple Pac Man game, but she isn't a real fan of games like the rest of us."

"Ya, I remember on my birthday, she didn't even stay long in the arcade and went out window shopping instead," said Christine.

"So, you've a bad feeling that she might say no?" Mino asked.

I nodded my head, even when I didn't want to. My two brothers and Christine groaned in frustration.

"But," I said with my index finger raised. "All hope isn't lost."

"What do you mean?" Seungyoon asked, looking at me.

"We don't have to convince her to come with us. Just say we're all going, and she will gladly come along."

"Why?" Jinwoo asked. "You just said it yourself, she's not much of a fan of the arcade."

I pointed across the table and everyone else followed the direction of my finger to what it was pointing at. We were all now staring at Mino.

He looked surprised and he gave me a questioning look. "Me?" he asked.

"It's obvious she likes you," I said as I smiled at him. "So, she won't refuse."

"We'll just have to wait and see," said Lee.

We soon heard a door opening and closing down the hall. Speaking of the devil. We all remained quiet as soon as Zoey appeared in the lounge.

"I had to shower quickly," said Zoey as she flipped her black shiny hair to the side and she sat at the other end of the table, facing me. "Hope I didn't take long."

"No, you were actually really quick," I said.

"Thank goodness," said Zoey as she got a white mug and poured in some coffee. "So, what are the plans for the day?" She looked at me.

"We're going to an arcade centre."

She paused for a minute, trying to take in what I said. She soon looked at each and everyone of us at the table. I could tell this wasn't what she expected and I gave her time to sink it in a little more.

"Oh," she said, her voice felt a little shaky and not everyone could be able to catch it. Besides, she did have a calm composure. "Everyone wants to go to the arcade, then?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Okay," Zoey turned to look at Mino with a smile. "If we are all going then, why shouldn't I?"

"Yay!" I said cheerfully. "We're going to have so much fun."

Everyone else apart from Zoey didn't seem so enthusiastic as they were before she joined us seconds ago. I bet they were still taking in what I said about Zoey and watching all that unfold in front of them. I received a few glances, especially from WINNER. My two brothers just looked at Zoey, not believing that she even agreed to come along without a complaint. Christine's mouth was partly wide open as she looked at me.

"You better eat your breakfast then," said Lee. "I'll call for the chauffeurs to come pick us up."

Along with Lee, I stood up from the table. The others slowly did the same, leaving Zoey and Mino together at the dinning table. Lee went in the hall to make a call while the rest of us went to sit by the comfortable sofas on the other side of the lounge.

"Sam," Seunghoon who sat beside me started to ask in a low tone. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked as I looked at him.

"You know what I mean. How did you know that Zoey was going to do exactly what you said she would do?"

"Sam knows her very well," said Mike who sat on my other side. "She's pretty good at predicting things. She can tell you what I'm thinking of right now, and she will be right."

"Okay," said Jinwoo, who sat on the other couch with Seungyoon and Christine. "So, Sam, what's Mike thinking of right now?"

"Playing games at the arcade," I answered.

I turned to look at Mike and he beamed at me.

"You're right," he said.

"Isn't that obvious?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Daniel is probably thinking the same thing too."

"I just can't wait," said Daniel excitedly who sat next to Mike.

After Zoey finished her breakfast, WINNER, us The Toxins and Lee went downstairs and as usual, our rides were waiting. We got in and we were taken to Gangnam. The place brought back memories of when we went bowling with BigBang and had a challenge with them which, we, The Toxins, emerged victorious. The thought of that day made me smile that Seunghoon who sat beside me couldn't stop staring at me when he noticed it.

"And why are you smiling like that?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," I said. I sat close to the window and looked out, still smiling.

"Well, you seem to be remembering something." Seunghoon leaned in closer to me and our shoulders touched. "Or someone with the way you're smiling like that."

I raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him. "Just because I'm smiling like this doesn't mean I'm thinking of someone. I just remembered the time we came here bowling with BigBang."

"Oh, that bowling challenge you guys won," said Seungyoon who sat at the backseat with my two brothers.

"Looks like you and I were thinking the same thing, Sam," said Mike.

"Who couldn't remember that day?" Daniel asked. "It was awesome."

"And I did my first ever split. I had to admit, I was scared until Sam calmed me down."

"Ya, that was a pretty awesome day," said Lee who sat in the front passenger seat.

"I feel today is going to be a whole lot fun," said Mike.

"That, I agree," said Seunghoon.

"Oh, here we are," said Lee.

The car parked along the sidewalk of a small street and there was a store with the yellow bright coloured words "Funny Land" beaming out for our eyes to see. I bet it looked even better at night with its bright yellow lights.

There was no time to waste. Seunghoon quickly opened the car door and stepped out. Like a gentleman, he led me out of the car and the others soon followed. Zoey and the rest who were in the other car packed behind the vehicle I was in, also joined us on the sidewalk.

Just by looking through the glass windows and the glass door, I could see a lot of machines inside. Most of them were doll claw machines with pretty tiny cute dolls inside. I could feel that the best of what the place had to offer was deep inside the store.

"I can't believe we are actually here," said Daniel who stood to my left and rubbing his fingers. "My fingers are just itching with excitement."

"Wait," said Zoey. We all turned to look at her. "This is the place?"

"Ya," Mino who stood beside her answered. "Anything wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just surprised it's called Funny Land, that's all."

"Don't worry, Zoey," said Mike. "Today will be the day you'll fall in love with the arcade."

"As if," said Zoey. I noticed her roll her eyes.

"She's fallen in love with other things and other people that she doesn't need to fall for games," said Christine.

"We'll see if that's true once we get in," said Lee. "Shall we?"

Lee went ahead towards the entrance of the store. My two brothers and I hurriedly followed behind her. I had to admit, I felt pretty excited to be here and I couldn't wait to get inside.

Lee was already in and headed straight for the counter. When the three of us entered next, we stopped to take a look around.

The place was a whole lot bigger from the inside than most of us thought. There were many doll claw machines all arranged in columns and the game machines were probably further beyond the store from where we stood.

I was looking at one of the doll claw machines when I noticed one machine that had tiny Pokemon dolls in it. I noticed the Pikachu ones and it brought back memories.

"Awww! Pikachu!" came Zoey's voice. I hadn't noticed the others come in since I got so engrossed with the surrounding and also with looking at the Pikachu dolls.

Zoey passed me and went over to the claw machine and looked at the Pokemon dolls through the glass, specifically looking at the Pikachu dolls. I smiled when I saw a smile on her face. She might not like games, but I bet the claw machines will keep her a bit occupied.

"Sam, do you remember when you were dressed up as Pikachu?" Zoey asked as she looked at me.

I rolled my eyes and before I could reply, Jinwoo did.

"She looked hilarious," he said.

"But she looked really adorable too," said Seunghoon as he came to stand behind me.

"Too adorable," said Zoey as she came over to me to pinch my cheeks in a playful manner. "I should get that Pikachu doll in memory of you, Sam. Anybody got a token?"

"Don't worry, I got tokens enough for everyone," said Lee who came from the counter and bought tokens. She carried them in a blue pouch.

"Nice," said Mike. "I'll need all the tokens I could get."

"If you run out, you can come to me and get some more."

Lee gave each and everyone of us enough tokens. My two brothers already started their way down the aisle passing the claw machines heading further into the store.

"Mmmm, looks like those two don't need any help finding where the game machines are," said Seungyoon as he watched the two brothers go.

"They can sniff a game machine from a mile away," said Christine. "They are typically game hounds."

Jinwoo laughed. "No doubt about that," he said.

"I'll be here trying to get a Pikachu doll for myself," said Zoey. "There are so many pretty dolls to chose from, I might stay here for a while."

"Then, we'll go to the fun side of this place," I said. "Aren't you coming with us, Lee?"

"Definitely. I don't want to be left out watching you guys play and see how some of you lose," said Lee with a smile.

"Very funny," I said. "See you later, Zoey."

Zoey waved at us as we made our way down the aisle where my two brothers had walked through earlier. There weren't many people in the store considering that it was still early during the day. But just by the looks of those who were on the doll clawing machines, this place was as legit as Seunghoon said it is.

We soon reached the gaming area and I couldn't help but smile to myself. There were so many games and I didn't know which one to play first. Daniel and Mike were already playing a motorcycle game and were riding on top of the motorcycle models used to control the game. The two were having a blast.

"I'm going to play Pac Man," I said when I saw a Pac Man machine and there was no one playing on it.

"These guys seem to be having fun," said Lee, as she looked at my brothers move side to side on the motorcycles. "I'll go and just watch the fun." And she went over to them.

"I'm in a mood for some competition," said Mino. "Why don't we go to the basketball game and see who can gain more points, Christine?"

"You're on," said Christine as she smiled at him. Mino led the way and she happily followed.

"If you need us, we'll be in the shooting range," said Seunghoon and he went along with Jinwoo and Seungyoon.

I went over to the Pac Man machine, inserted a token and started to play. Just like Zoey, Pac Man was one of my favourite arcade games and I was really good at it too. At the moment, I was using this game as a warm up for the other games to come.

After playing a few rounds of Pac Man, Lee and I ended up playing a Tekken game and I beat her in every round we played.

"Aww, I lose again," said Lee as she clapped her hands together in frustration.

"Don't worry," I said as I held her shoulder. "With a little more practise, you'll get used to it. You just have to know some of the characters' special abilities. That's how it's easy to win."

"You play these types of games. I don't."

"Sam seems to be hammering you, Lee," came Mike as he appeared behind us. "Let me beat her for you."

"Not this time around," I said as I looked at Mike. "Don't forget, I can whoop your butt if I want to."

"Oh, you're on, sis," said Mike. "Lee, kindly move aside. I think Sam has to know who's the champion around here."

Lee stood aside and Mike joined me at the machine. We both inserted tokens into the machine slots, chose our game characters and started to play.

Playing such games with my brothers could be really competitive, especially when you know they are really good. In the first round, I at least did my best but Mike beat me by giving my character a killer move which completely drained out my character's remaining life bar.

"Dang it!" I muttered.

"This is interesting," said Lee. "The whole fight completely blew me away."

"There's round two," said Mike as he gave me a smirk. "Do you want to continue so that I can whoop you again?"

If he thought trying to chicken me out of this was going to stop me, he was dead wrong.

I faced the screen. "I'm up for another round."

"Okay. Your funeral."

We started the second round and this time, I was careful enough to block whatever punch, kick and power move that came at my character's way. And this time around, I beat Mike.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. I looked at my brother. "In your face!"

"Okay, I have to admit, that was good," said Mike with a defeated look on his face.

"Oh, wow!" Lee said. "This is great. It's a tie."

"Winner of the last round, wins," I said.

"OMG," said Daniel and we all turned to look at him behind us. He had a look of awe on his face. "This game just got real."

"You've been watching?" Mike asked.

"Dah, since the second round. Come on, you two, it's the last round. We need a winner."

Mike and I quickly turned back to the screen and started to play the final round. This round felt like the longest I had ever played and time was running out. This time around, my life bar decreased like crazy because of unnecesary kicks and punches. Blocking wasn't doing me or my character any good. I had to think of something or else Mike might as well have won this game.

We had thirty seconds left on the clock, and Mike and I were tapping uncontrollably on the controls, our eyes fixed on the screen. Fifteen seconds remaining and my life bar was almost close to zero. Just as Mike was about to apply his killer move on my character, I blocked it. He had missed his chance and his player character was left wide open. This was my chance to finish him with my own killer move. I tapped on the buttons, remembering the killer move for my character. My character gave Mike's a giant kick that made him hit the ground then bounce in the air and drop back to the ground again, draining a huge part of his life bar. Just as Mike's character was about to get up, I gave a somersault kick, finishing him off and ending the game.

"I win!" I exclaimed as I jumped with excitement. "I win!"

Mike groaned in frustration and Daniel came over to hug me.

"That was amazing, Sam," said Daniel. "And you finished him off just in time."

"I had to admit, this fight was great," said Lee. "Completely awesome."

"Thanks," I said with a smile. "It was an awesome fight, Mike."

"Ya, ya, it was great," said Mike as he rolled his eyes at me. "That was clever of you blocking my killer move like that."

"Thank you. You always beat in such games, it was my time to shine for once."

"Ya, but I'm still number one."

"That's one thing I can never take away from you."

"Oh, my goodness," came Christine. "Did you just beat Mike in a Tekken game?"

"I sure did," I answered with a smile.

"Explains why you have people watching," said Mino as he also appeared after walking through a small crowd that had come to watch the game. I hadn't noticed that there were even there and it looked like some had their phones out recording the whole thing.

"Who doesn't like a good Tekken game?" Mike asked. "Are you up for the challenge, Mino?"

"You're on," said Mino as I stepped away from the machine, giving way to him.

"Don't take him so lightly, Mino," I warned him. "Mike's the number one gamer in the family for a reason."

Mino smiled at me. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey, do you want to try out the shooting range?" Christine asked me.

"Sure," I said. "We will leave the boys to it."

"I'll also join you," said Lee. "I need to practise on my aim so that when it comes to duck season back home, I'll be able to aim right."

"I'll have to learn to aim just in case I've to shoot annoying boys," I said.

Christine laughed. "I hope you don't mean either G-Dragon or Seunghoon."

I rolled my eyes. "What do you think?"

Daniel said he would join us later on at the shooting range and stayed behind to watch. The three of us broke away from the crowd watching Mino and Mike play.

At the shooting range, we found Seunghoon, Seungyoon and Jinwoo, all in separate shooting booths.

"How long have you guys been here?" I asked them when they noticed us approach. "Didn't you say you were coming here first?"

"We got caught playing something else because of Jinwoo," said Seungyoon as he looked at Jinwoo. All Jinwoo did was shrug his shoulders.

"It's not my fault that I wanted to play darts," said Jinwoo.

"I wouldn't mind these guys," said Christine as she smiled at Jinwoo. "Let's get to shooting."

"Are you good at it?" Seunghoon asked.

"No, the three of us aren't good at all," said Lee. "Especially when it comes to aim."

"Well, you ladies have the perfect people to teach you then" said Seungyoon. "First off, let's see how you aim."

"Okay," I gave him a smirk. "But if I end up shooting at your head, you have yourself to blame."

Seunghoon, Jinwoo and Seungyoon stepped out of the booths they were in then Lee, Christine and I stepped in the empty booths. Each booth had guns laid on a counter. I picked up a gun and checked that it was fully loaded. I looked to the side and I could see Lee through the glass which separated the booth she was in from mine. I looked further and I could see Christine, in the booth next to Lee's, looking at her gun.

"I think I don't want to do this anymore," said Lee, shaking her head.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Just minutes ago, you were talking about how you wanted to kill a duck when you get back home."

"That's before I remembered how frightened I am of guns."

"They are not real, they are just meant for this game. So, I don't think you should even be worried," said Christine.

"I don't know about you, but I think I'm ready to shoot," I said as I held the gun up in front of me towards the targets before me. The targets were small white balls.

"Don't forget to hold the gun straight and aim," said Seungyoon behind me.

"Hopefully, I'll be good at my first shot." I stared at the tiny targets in front of me. There were three rows from top to bottom. Each row had six balls all lined up.

Before I could pull the trigger, I made my arms firm and steady as I stared at the targets. I targeted for one of the balls in the second roll. And when I felt I was ready, I fired.

And I hit it.

"Woow!" I yelled with excitement and punched the air.

I saw Lee and Christine with their mouths wide open, staring at me. They look stunned.

"How did you do that?" Lee asked.

"I listened to Seungyoon's advice," I said as I turned to look at the guys behind me. Even they couldn't believe that I got away with my first shot.

"Are you sure you've never done this before?" Jinwoo asked.

"It's the very first time. I was never a fan of shooting ranges till now."

"Sam is on her A game today," said Christine. "Did you know she beat Mike in a Tekken game before coming here?"

Now the boys grew even more stunned as they looked at me with their mouths wide open.

"No way, I don't believe it," said Seunghoon.

"Should I challenge you to a Tekken game after this?" I asked him with an eyebrow raised.

"You're on. But first, let's see if you can shoot down all those targets."

"I can assure you, I won't be able to do so."

"Before that," said Lee. "Let me shoot."

"You're finally ready?" Jinwoo asked.

"No, I just want to see the looks on your faces when I get my aim right."

Lee raised the gun in her hand and she pointed it towards the targets in her lane. She paused for a moment, staring at the targets with concentration. Then she pulled the trigger. She shot down a target.

"Way to go, Lee!" Christine and I cheered for her.

"That felt great!" Lee said with her eyes wide with excitement as she looked at me. "I might just be good at this."

"I wouldn't be too confident about it," said Seungyoon. "That's just your first shot."

"I beg to differ. Instead, you all should be happy for me."

"Well, I'm happy for you," I said with a grin.

"Okay, now it's my turn," said Christine.

Christine took a huge breath and raised the gun to shoot the targets in front of her. She bit her tongue as she stared with concentration. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, Daniel came running towards us, calling out my name and Lee's.

"Lee! Sam!" Daniel called as he approached us. "You better come with me, quick!"

"Darn it, Daniel!" Christine grew furious as she lowered the gun and turned to look at him. "Can't you see that you almost made me miss the target?"

"We've more important things to worry about than that," said Daniel.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He had a terrified look on his face and I felt something was wrong.

"It's Zoey. She's fainted. Mike and Mino are with her now. They went to attend to her and I came here to fetch you guys."

"Oh, no," Lee and I muttered at the same time. And dropping our guns, we ran out of the booth and followed Daniel.

The others followed behind us. Daniel lead us to where we left Zoey at first at the doll claw machines. We noticed a small crowd of people around the area. We excused ourselves pushing our way through the crowd to get to Zoey.

Daniel, Lee and I reached the clearing where we found Zoey laying on the floor unconscious. Mino had her head on his laps and was calling out to her gently to wake up. Mike was beside her with a thin piece of paper, fanning to give her air.

"What happened?" I asked as I knelt beside Zoey with Mike on the other side. Lee knelt right beside me.

All Mino could do was look at me and he didn't say a word. It could clearly show on his face that he was worried. We all were. Even Mike who kept fanning air in front her face.

"Zoey, Zoey," I called to her as I held her cheek. She looked really pale. That's strange. She was fine this morning. What happened all of the sudden?

"Is she breathing?" Christine asked behind me.

"She's breathing fine," Mino answered.

"But what happened?" Lee asked. "Zoey couldn't just faint out of nowhere."

"Maybe we should call an ambulance?" Jinwoo asked.

"I don't think it's that serious. Mike, what happened to her?"

"If you knew the reason why she fainting, you would faint too," said Mike.

"Now isn't the right time to joke around, Mike!" I snapped as I looked at him. "Tell me what happened right now."

Mike didn't have to answer me at all when someone suddenly broke away from the crowd with a glass of water in hand, came to kneel beside Mike close to Zoey and sprinkled water over her face. Zoey soon started to come around.

"Zoey? Zoey, wake up," said Mino as he held her cheek. "Can you hear me?"

Zoey's eyes flew open and she looked up at Mino. Thank goodness she was alright. I was just scared of how she would react if she were to see the person who just sprinkled water over her face. Because right now, I also felt like I was going to faint. Mike was right when he said if I knew what made Zoey faint, I would faint too.

Zoey turned to look beside her and smiled at Jungkook. I sighed in relief. Thank goodness. I thought she was going to faint again.

"What's going on here?" Christine asked with a surprised tone in her voice. I bet she finally found the voice to speak after Jungkook had appeared before us from the crowd. I could imagine her ready to faint too.

"Zoey fainted when she saw us come in," came Namjoon's voice. I looked up and saw the rest of BTS in front of me. I hadn't noticed them the entire time thinking that they were part of the crowd of spectators.

"Now I'm the one who's going to faint next," said Lee as she looked at me and I looked at her.

"Same here," I said.

"No way," said Mike as he shook a finger at the both of us. "You two are the strongest women I know and fainting now isn't going to do us any good."

"Are you okay?" Jungkook asked Zoey.  
"Now that you're asking, I'm fine," said Zoey as she continued to smile at him.

"Okay, let's get up," said Mino.

Mino and Jungkook helped her up and the rest of us who had knelt beside her, also stood up from the floor.

"Do you feel any better?" Mino asked.

"I'm okay," said Zoey. "Don't worry."

"Do you want to go back to the hotel?" Lee asked.

"No way." Zoey smiled at Lee. "Now that BTS are here, I don't want to leave."

Christine, my two brothers, Lee and I all slapped our foreheads at almost the exact same time. Typical Zoey.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you guys!" Zoey exclaimed as she hugged Jungkook who was closet to her. He didn't expect it as it could clearly show on his face. I noticed the BTS maknae (막내) blush and wondering whether to hug her back or not.

"Well, looks like you're better," said Suga.

Zoey turned in his direction and just as she was about to run over and hug him, Suga held up a hand to stop her.

"That won't be necessary," he said with a smirk on his face. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't a fan of hugs.

"Oooooooh!" WINNER and the four of us Toxins muttered at the same time with our mouths covered. That was harsh.

"Awwh," Zoey muttered as she looked at Suga and pouted her lip. "You're no fun."

"Bring it in, Zoey," said RM with his arms out wide. Zoey shrieked like crazy and went to hug him.

"This is so cool," she said after hugging RM. "I can't believe that I just hugged you."

"I can," I heard Mike mutter. I turned to look at him and didn't say a word.

Zoey ended up hugging each and every other remaining BTS member. I wondered if she was still okay after all the fainting. Because right now, she couldn't stop giggling like crazy.

"So, we meet again," I said as I smiled at BTS. "No wonder Zoey fainted."

"Are you upset about that?" J-Hope asked.

"No, why should I? Actually, I couldn't be the more happier that you're all here." I looked towards Zoey who stood next to V and couldn't stop staring at him. Now I was really worried.

"Zoey? Zoey," I called out to her as I came and took her by the arm, dragging her away so that she could stand right next to me.

She looked a little puzzled at what I did. "But, Sam......" she started to say but I interrupted her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked as I placed my palm over her head to check her temperature.

"If I'm coming down with a fever, just know it's a BTS fever," she said as she grinned at me.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Now that this is all over and Zoey's okay, can we go back to why we came here?" Seunghoon asked.

"Sure," said Jin. "We also came here to have fun."

"You're finally speaking my language," said Mike. "Anyone of you guys up for a Tekken game?"

Jimin, Jungkook, J-Hope, Suga and Jin all agreed. Mike and the rest of WINNER led the way down the aisle as they followed. Zoey was just about to turn around and follow them also when I hooked my arm around my elbow to stop her from going.

"Oh no, you don't," I said as I looked at her.

"But Sam, I also want to go and watch them play," said Zoey.

"You've never been a fan of violent games yet any other game except Pac Man," I said. "You need to be monitored, not after that fainting episode of yours."

"Sam's right," said Lee. "If anything, you should even be in the car heading back to the hotel."

"But I'm fine," Zoey said. "I just got super excited upon seeing BTS." She turned to look at V and RM in front of us.

"Come on, Sam," said V. "Zoey says she's fine. Besides, we are all here to have fun, right? It wouldn't be any fun for you if you babysit her the whole time."

Before I could respond to V's statement, Zoey sighed and so did Christine. I turned to look at Zoey and she was staring at V all dreamy eyed. I turned to look at Christine and she looked exactly the same. I shook my head, and so did Lee.

"He's right," said RM. "Now that you're, how am I supposed to challenge you in a game if you take care of Zoey?"

"You want to challenge me in a game?" I asked.

"Oh my gosh, you've the most hottest voice ever, RM," said Zoey, before RM could reply, still looking dreamy eyed. "And your dimples are just so cute."

He laughed. "Thanks, Zoey. And you've the most peculiar and yet sweet attitude ever."

Zoey giggled like crazy. "He said I'm sweet," she said as she looked at me with a grin.

"And peculiar," said Lee. "Didn't you hear that?"

"I don't think so." Zoey leaned her head on my shoulder and sighed again.

"So, what do you say, Sam?" RM asked looking at me. "You and I go against each other. Let's see if you're much of a gamer like your brothers are."

I raised an eyebrow at him. He was really asking me for a challenge. But right now, I felt like I wasn't really up for it.

"Oh, you wouldn't want to go up against, Sam," said Daniel who stood beside Lee. For a moment there, I thought he had joined the others at the game machines.

"And why is that?" V asked.

"Sam is really on fire today," said Christine. "I'll let you know that she beat Mike in a Tekken game earlier."

RM and V looked at me with surprised looks on their faces. Even Zoey who had been leaning her head on my shoulder looked at me.

"For real?" Zoey asked. "Why did I miss out on such a thing?"

"Because you were here the whole time by the claw machines, dum, dum," I answered. "Besides, I just got lucky and did what I could in the last dying seconds. Mike always beats me in such games. "

"But you have to admit," said Lee. "It was one heck of a good fight."

"Just awesome," said Daniel.

"After hearing all these reviews, now I really want to get this challenge underway," said RM as he smiled at me.

"That sounds great, Namjoon, but not today," I answered.

Zoey murmured. "Come on, Sam," she complained. "If you're worried that I might do something wrong when you aren't looking, I won't do a thing. Besides, Lee will be there to watch over me."

"Hey! Unlike you, I also came to have fun and only to make sure that you guys don't cause a mess like Christine did yesterday," said Lee.

I noticed Christine throw Lee an annoyed look. She clearly didn't like being reminded of what happened.

"Come on, Sam," pleaded Daniel. "Just go against RM. It will be so much fun."

I rolled my eyes as the others including V and Lee, also started to plead. I looked at RM and he kept on staring at me, this time with an eyebrow raised.

I rolled my eyes in the end and unhooked my arm around Zoey's elbow and I held my hand out to RM.

"Okay, let's do this," I said. "One Tekken game. Winner takes it all."

"Why not have a multiple game challenge?" RM asked as he stared at my hand and then back at me. "We'll not only play Tekken but other games as well. The person who comes top in most of the games, is the champion."

I noticed the others pause upon RM's request. I was going to play who knows how many games. There wasn't enough time to think things through. Sometimes in life, you just have to take the risk despite the consequences that follow. And as a gamer, you should accept every challenge that comes your way. Though I myself wasn't ready for it.

"Deal," I said.

He shook my hand as the others around us grew excited and muttered "yes!" They weren't the only ones though. There was still a small crowd of people who remained with us to watch the whole thing and they seemed to love the idea of RM and I going against each other.

Well I for one, was in for a crazy game ride.


	12. Chapter 11: F.U.N

"Are you serious?" Mike asked as he looked at me.

"I couldn't say no," I said as I shrugged my shoulders. "Now that I think about it, this is a bad idea."

"You were supposed to know that even before you agreed."

"What do you think? I said no to RM but everyone else started to plead and I couldn't say no."

"Well, this is going to be great. It's just like that time when BigBang challenged us in that bowling game."

I rubbed my neck as I thought of what might happen. There was no turning back now. And I regretted ever accepting to all of this in the first place.

Mike and I were standing by the doll claw machines away from everyone else in the gaming area. I was having a bottle of water alongside him waiting to be called for the challenge. Aside from everybody else, Mike was the only person in his right sense who found all of this to be a pretty bad idea.

"I think I should just call it quits," I said as I screwed the lid back on the bottle and threw the empty bottle in the waste bin nearby.

"Too late for that, sis," said Mike. "As much as I think about it now, this isn't much of a bad thing after all."

I threw a look at him. "What are you saying? You're supposed to be supporting me. Not thinking like everybody else."

"Okay, you're right. But come on, Sam, it will be so much fun. People will get to see that it's not only Daniel and I that having some gaming blood."

"Thanks, I feel a lot better now." I rolled my eyes.

"Don't be so sarcastic. It will be good for you in some way. At least you get to challenge a member of BTS. That's one thing not every fangirl gets to experience."

"As much as you have a point on that one, I still don't feel any better. What if I embarrass myself?"

"Trust me, you couldn't be as worse as Christine. I know you. You might think you aren't ready but you've got this and you'll definitely win."

"Thanks Mike." I smiled at him as I gave him a small punch on the shoulder. "I really needed to hear that."

Mike smiled back at me and we soon noticed Suga and Jin approach us. Looks like it's game time.

"Are you ready?" Suga asked with that corky smile on his face as he looked at me.

"To be honest, no," I replied as I felt my cheeks flush.

"Well, you better be because it's time."

"So, what challenge are we going for first?"

"The basketball game," said Jin.

"That will be easy," said Mike as he looked at me.

I shook my head. "I don't know. I've to be fast enough to throw the balls in the hoop and gain enough points."

"It might be easy, but its as tough as it gets," said Suga.

I blew out a sigh. "Okay, here goes nothing."

Mike and I followed Suga and Jin to the small crowd of spectators who had come to watch the challenge. I found RM waiting for me at the basketball game machine. In the crowd were BTS, WINNER and The Toxins. Gosh, this felt terrifying. I had to pull myself together and do what I had to do.

"Are you ready?" RM asked me.

"No," I answered.

"Okay," came Lee as she came towards us. "Looks like the players are ready." She smiled at the both of us.

"Looks like you're the one spearheading this challenge like last time," I said.

"Hey, don't complain. You know I'm older than you and I just have to. So, listen up you two. This is going to be a multiple game challenge. You will only get to play five games."

I sighed in relief. Five was a reasonable number and an odd one for that matter. That meant there wasn't going to be any issue of a tie.

"So, whoever manages to win the most games is winner of the whole competition."

"Is there a prize for the winner?" RM asked.

"Loser does whatever the winner wishes."

Really? I hated such conditions just to win a game. Why couldn't I just get a doll for a prize or something and walk away free minded?

"So, your first challenge is the basketball court. Whoever manages to gain more points than the other wins. Are you ready?"

"Yes," RM and I replied at the same time. I turned to look at him and I found him looking back at me.

"Okay, so, stand in front of the basketball machine, please and I'll tell when to begin."

I turned towards the machine and stood there staring at the basketball net. I've never really played this game before. Better yet, I was never a fan of basketball even back in my school days. If it ever came to ball games, basketball was never really my thing.

"All the best, Sam!" I heard Seunghoon cheer behind me. I turned to look at him and I smiled. The rest of WINNER all gave me a thumbs up, wishing me the best of luck.

"You look nervous," said RM who stood next to me facing the machine next to mine. I turned to look back in front of me.

"Not really a fan of basketball," I answered, trying to keep calm.

I noticed him smile at the corner of my eye with those cute killer dimples on his cheeks and said nothing more. Looks like he thought he had an advantage over me in this game. Well, he had another thing coming. I was going to do whatever it takes.

"Okay," came Lee. "Now, you already know what to do. Throw the basketballs into the net and gain enough points before time runs out. You already knows what happens when you miss the target. Are you ready?"

RM and I nodded our heads. I looked at the basketballs all lined up in front of me and shook my hands. I just hope I would be fast enough to throw all those balls into the net.

"In the count of three, you begin," said Lee. "Ready? One, two.....three!"

I quickly got the first basketball in front of me and threw towards the net. I didn't even check to see if it had gone in or not because I was already getting the second ball and throwing it at the net. I saw that one go in, I got my third one and it went in too.

There was cheering behind me and I couldn't tell you who was supporting who. There cheers seemed all muffled up in my ears because I was too focused on the game throwing the balls towards the basketball net. I couldn't even look to my side to see how RM was doing because I might just cost myself in the game.

I felt like I had been throwing balls forever that I felt my arms get weary. This time around, I found myself throwing the balls with one hand. I would throw the ball with my left and my right one would be picking up the next one ready to throw. I kept on doing that until I ran out of balls and the buzzer from the machine soon rang, announcing that the game was over.

Thank goodness! I turned around and sighed as I felt my arms ache after all the throwing. There was clapping and cheering around me and I couldn't care less because my arms ached way too much.

"And the winner of the this round is.....!" Lee announced. There was still cheering going on that at first I didn't get to hear the name.

"Huh?" I asked as I stretched my arm back and forth.

"You won the first round, Sam," said Christine as she over to hug me. "You were awesome."

"I won?" I asked with a surprised look on my face after she broke away from me.

"Look at the scores behind you."

I turned towards the basketball machine and I noticed the score meter right next to the basketball net. I looked over at RM's score. I beat him and that made my mouth drop.

"What the.....?" I grew too speechless. I didn't expect this, to be honest.

"Congrats, Sam," said RM with a smile. "Were you lying that you weren't good at basketball just to fool me?"

"Aren't you seeing the surprised look on my face right now?" I asked pointing at my own face. "Trust me, I meant what I said when I said that basketball was never my thing."

"Well, you showed him," said Mino as he came towards me. "Not only were you fast at throwing the balls, you only got to miss the net once."

"Really?" I now scratched my head.

"I told you could do it, sis," said Mike as he came over and smiled at me.

"Thanks, but can I take a break?" I asked. "My arms are too tired. Just a few minutes."

"Sure you can," said Lee. "I'll give you two five minutes then we can go over to the next challenge."

"I think I'll also need to rest my arms too," said RM. "Just know that this isn't over yet, Sam."

RM went over to join his BTS mates while I was surrounded by my own and WINNER.

"May I ask where Zoey is?" I asked.

"Forget about her," said Seungyoon. "She just joined BTS and will be supporting RM from now on."

I had my eyebrow raised. "Really?"

"I've always told you that Zoey will never last being your best friend," said Mike mockingly and he laughed.

I looked towards BTS and I could see Zoey standing right next to Jimin. They were all talking and laughing. She seemed to be having a good time with them.

"It's only for now," I said. "She can support anyone she wants."

A few minutes later, Lee came over to to us.

"Okay, Sam, ready for the next round?" she asked.

I nodded my head and she nodded back. She went over to RM obviously asking him the same question. He also nodded his head and we all followed Lee to the next game machine.

The motorcycle race.

"No way," I said as I shook my head. "You can't expect me to play this game."

"But that's the next challenge," said Lee.

"May I ask who chose this apart from you?" I asked with my arms folded.

"Zoey and Suga," Lee replied.

I rolled my eyes. Zoey and Suga. No wonder. One of them had decided on this and I'm going to know who.

"What's wrong, Sam?" came Suga behind me and I turned to face him. "Scared of a little motorcycle ride?"

I didn't answer him at first because finding the right words to tell him was proving to be really difficult.

"No, it's just that motorcycle games aren't my thing either," I answered.

"Okay, this is just wrong," said Mino. "Aren't these two supposed to play games they can manage to play?"

"Well, yes," said Lee. "I had no idea that Sam wasn't really a fan of motorcycle games."

"Trust me, she's one who crashes," said Daniel. "A lot."

"See, even my brothers know that," I said as I looked at Suga.

"But I'm afraid the challenge has already been set," said Suga with a smirk. "So you better get ready. Who knows, you might just be lucky with this like you were with the basketball challenge."

I shook my head and turned away from Suga to look at the motorcycle arcade machine before me. If it was one thing I sucked at apart from basketball, was race car or motorcycle games. The reason why I hated them was because I would always crash. Though there was a time when I used to practise a lot and I had almost got it right. But right now, I was afraid that I might as well just crash big time.

"Sorry about Suga," came RM as he came to stand beside me. "He might be a little bit of a prick sometimes."

"Don't apologise," I answered. "I might as well have lost this round anyway."

"You know what? I'm not going to take your word on this one."

"Why?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Because of the basketball game?"

"Yep. It's true what people say about you. You're just full of surprises."

I didn't say anything as I blushed and thought of what the hell I was going to do in this game.

"Hey, Sam," came Zoey. "Hope you two are ready. We're about to begin."

"Did you suggest that putting in the motorcycle game in the challenge?" I asked giving Zoey the eyebrow.

"Ummmm," Zoey scratched her head looking somewhere else. "Oh, look, Mino is calling me. I'll be back soon."

Zoey soon left RM and I alone again. He started to laugh while I just rolled my eyes.

"What was that about?" RM asked.

"Just wanted to know if she was the one who suggested bringing in this challenge. I've no doubt that she did," I answered.

"Sam," I heard someone call behind me. It was Jimin and alongside him came Jungkook.

"Hey," I said as RM and I turned to face them.

"We didn't wish you all the best earlier," said Jimin.

"But aren't you supporting your leader on this?" I looked at RM with my eyebrow raised.

Jimin shrugged his shoulders as he smiled at me. He looked so adorable when he smiled, I couldn't help but smile back.

"I care less who wins," he said. "As long as you guys are having fun and we are all with you."

What Jimin said bore deep in my mind. He was absolutely right on this one. This wasn't some kind of competition where we would win a grand prize. We all came here to have fun and I forgot about all that because I so much as cared about winning this thing to prove how much of a gamer I was like my brothers.

"Sam?" A hand waved in front of me and I came back to reality.

"Are you okay?" RM asked. He was the one who had waved his hand in front of me.

"I am. Why?" I asked.

"You were smiling to yourself. What were you thinking about?"

I turned to look at Jimin and Jungkook in front of me, still smiling.

"Nothing," I replied. "Jimin said something that reminded me what I came here for."

"Mmmm, I'm glad I helped," said Jimin as he chuckled. Gosh, he was just so adorable.

"For a moment, I thought you were falling for Jimin," said RM.

"Don't all girls?" I asked giving RM a smirk. "I'll tell you one thing, I like all of you BTS members, it's hard to chose who's my bias."

"Even Suga?"

I laughed. "Well, ya. Let's just say his cold sarcasm is what draws me to him."

"Someone should tell him that," said Jungkook.

"For now, don't say a word," I said. "I'll be the one to tell him one of these fine days."

"But I really want to know," said RM. "Every fan girl has a bias and you saying you like us all, doesn't count."

"You want to know who my BTS bias is?" I raised an eyebrow at RM.

"I also want to know," said Jimin.

I looked at Jungkook. "What about you, Kooky? Wouldn't you like to know?"

Jungkook looked startled. Looked like he didn't expect me to call him Kooky and he ended up staring at the floor, then back at me without a word.

"Okay, the motorcycle race is about to begin!" Lee announced, drawing everyone's attention towards her. "Players, please step forward."

"We better go," I said.

"All the best," said Jungkook.

I smiled at him and Jimin. As I turned around with RM, I couldn't help but wonder if I had seen Jungkook blush earlier. But I brushed that off when I approached the motorcycle game machine.

"Players, mount your motorcycles," said Lee.

I got on my motorcycle and I couldn't help but feel familiar with it. It was almost like getting on a bicycle. I smiled at myself. Maybe with this, I wouldn't do such a horrible job as crash in the game.

RM mounted on his motorcycle. I turned to look at him and he at me.

"Hope you don't crash," he said.

I made a flapping noise with my lips. "Please, crashing is almost my middle name," I said with a smirk.

I held the handlebars of the motorcycle and I noticed the buttons on it. The forward, reverse, acclerator, the brakes and nitro booster buttons. I took a deep breath and prayed that I shouldn't crash.

"Okay," came Lee. "Ready? When the lights turn green, you go."

I turned to look at the screen in front of me. I was facing a long tarred road. The traffic robot above the screen showed red, seconds later, it was yellow. I took a deep breath and my thumb was ready to press on the accelerator button.

The green light came on and I pushed on the accelerator. My motorcycle on the screen sped forward and I was on the road. So far so good as I was doing okay. When it came to every corner, I would turn smoothly holding onto the brakes so as not to skid off the road, moving the motorcycle I was on side to side. There was only one problem though.

RM was ahead of me.

I didn't care though. As much as I was having fun, not crashing or anything, I had a trick up my sleeve.

One good thing was that we were only going for one round. I stared at the map on the side of the screen. We were almost close to the finish line and I was close on RM's tail. I stepped on the accelerator and I was now neck and neck with RM.

There was cheering behind me going on and that made me motivated. RM pulled a little further away from me and just as we were almost close to the finish line, I pushed on the nitro booster and my motorcycle on the road dashed at a high speed and passed the finish line. The words "WINNER" flashed on my screen.

"WOOOOHOOOO!" I exclaimed happily with my hands in the air. I felt so alive like never before.

I felt someone from behind lift me off the motorcycle. It was Seunghoon. Immediately I was off the motorcycle, he hugged me properly.

"That was so cool, Sam," he said as he looked at me.

"And you didn't even crash," said Jinwoo as he came to join us. "You were really in the game."

"Thanks," I said.

"How did you know when to press nitro to win?" Seungyoon asked.

"I learnt from the best," I said as I turned to look at my two brothers.

"If dad were here, he would think you really deserve a driver's license," said Daniel. Mike and I laughed.

I heard clapping behind me and I turned around to see RM. He had also just mounted off the motorcycle he was riding on and was applauding for me.

"Once again," he said. "You surprised me at the last minute."

"Hope you aren't mad," I said as I winced.

"Do I look mad? I'm being beaten by a girl, left, right and centre. This probably is the most surprising day of my life."

"Tell me about it," said Mike. "She beat me in a Tekken game. That was also a shock on my part."

"Looks like she's just like us after all," said Daniel.

"Mmm, excuse me," I said with my eyebrow raised. "I was born first, so, you got the 'it' for gaming, from me."

"That's so not true," said Mike, shaking his head.

"It is. It's just that you boys were born in a time and era where video games became so popular that it was a must for every boy to know how to play."

"I think I agree on Sam on this one," said J-Hope as he came to join us. "If playing video games was a girl-thing, they would be unstoppable."

I smiled at J-Hope. "I definitely like your thinking."

"Just because females are proven to be the smartest doesn't mean they are unstoppable," said Daniel.

"I don't know what you're all arguing about here," said Zoey as she approached us. "But we have to move on to the third challenge."

"Which is.....? RM and I asked at the same time.

"Dance Dance Revolution," answered Christine as she appeared behind Zoey.

"Christine! I was then one whose supposed to tell them that," Zoey complained. "Not you."

"Finally, a real competition," I said as I looked at RM.

"Why? Because we can dance ourselves?" RM asked.

"Yep."

"Let me give you a tip," said J-Hope. "RM isn't that much of a dancer. I bet in this round, you might as well have won it."

"We'll see about that," I said. "Who knows, he might just surprise me."

We moved on to the Dance Dance Revolution game and RM and I got on with the challenge right away. I was having fun and so was he. Everyone else who watched was cheering for us because they were also enjoying it. I ended up winning the challenge.

"Ha, I win again!" I said happily after the game was over.

"Okay, it's pretty obvious that you've won this challenge," said RM. "You've already beat me in three games."

"You want to back out on the challenge?" I smirked.

"Ya, I should have listened to your brother and Christine that you were on your A game today."

"Is that a forfeit plea I hear?" came Lee as she approached us from behind.

"Yep," said RM as he turned to look at Lee then back at me. "Sam's already beat me in three games with two more to play. She's already won."

"Okay," said Lee as she smiled at RM, then she turned to look at me. "Looks like we've our winner."

"Does that mean the challenge is over?" Jin asked.

"Yep," said Lee as she turned around to address the whole crowd. "Sam's our winner."

Everyone watching cheered and clapped for me. My two brothers and Christine came to the Dance Dance Revolution platform I was standing on to hug me.

"Now can we please just have fun now?" I asked. "I mean, we all came to the arcade to have fun right? Not just watch a challenge."

"I agree," said Zoey. "Now that I see everyone having fun, I think I also want to join in and play a game or two."

"Okay," said V as he came to stand next to her. "Let's go play darts. You and I."

Zoey smiled. "Sure."

"Ha! I told you would fall in love with the arcade today, Zoey," said Mike.

"Ya, ya, whatever." Zoey playfully rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of which," came Seunghoon as he came to approach me and took me by the hand. "You and I have a Tekken game to play."

"I forgot about that," I said, blushing as I looked at his hand holding mine.

"I want to go against her too," said Suga as he gave me a smirk. "I'll have to see for myself if she's really that good as others say she is."

"Same here," said RM.

"I think I'll be here dancing," said Mike. "Who's with me?"

"I am," said J-Hope. "This is going to be fun."

"I think I'll join you," said Mino.

After walking away from the Dance Dance Revolution game machine, I went along with Seunghoon, Suga and RM to play Tekken and everyone else dispersed heading to play other games.

We all had fun, The Toxins, BTS, WINNER and Lee. We played various games together that it didn't matter who was better than the other. We even had fun at the doll claw machines. Though it was funny how most of us failed to get the dolls out a number of times.

Time seemed to have stopped when we were in the arcade. Because the time we were all leaving the place, we were surprised that it was way past lunch time, late in the afternoon.


	13. Chapter 12: The First Teaser

I turned around in my bed and I wrapped my arm around something. My panda. The panda Seungri bought for me as a gift the time I had a cold and since then, it's always been on my bed. I always get the chance to sleep with it when I want to. It's always so nice and comforting to wrap my arms around it because its so soft and cuddly. I hugged it tighter until I felt something a little off.

The panda felt different.

I opened my sleepy eyes and when I stared at the panda on the bed, I realised that it wasn't my panda.

"Oh my goodness!" I yelled, fully wide awake and full of shock, rolling off the other side of the bed. I fell to the floor and in the process I hit my head on the small drawer where the lamp stood.

"Ouch!" I moaned on the floor from the terrible landing and also to the bump to the head.

"Sam! Aish, are you okay?"

I held the side of my head as I rolled over on the floor so that I could lay on my back, still moaning. I stared upwards completely dazed and there was G-Dragon atop my bed staring down at me.

"Is she okay?" came Zoey's voice that sounded as if from a distance. "If she's dead, you're so going to pay for it, Ji Yong!"

I felt like I was about to pass out with the scenery around me turning into a blur. I felt myself being lifted up from the floor and being laid down on something soft. I figured that was the bed. I felt my world spinning and every time I tried to figure out what was happening, my head hurt even more.

I could hear voices around me, but I couldn't make out who was there and where they stood. Their voices all sounded muffled up in my ears and the scenes in front of me still a blur. I felt confused and every time I tried to do something, my head ached like hell.

I felt something soft touch my cheek and I could hear the person's voice closet to me become clearer with every second that passed.

"....Sam, Sam, please say something? Are you okay?"

"We're so dead. Collins is going to kill me for letting you in here just to try and surprise Sam. Now look, she looks like she's going to pass out on us at any moment."

"Zoey.....what the....? What happened! Is she okay?" came another voice.

"She's fine. She just had a little fall, that's all."

"Sam?"

I felt another hand touch my other cheek. I still couldn't figure out what was going on and who was there. I could tell there was Zoey and G-Dragon, but I couldn't tell who the third person was.

My vision became worse as I soon felt like I was sinking into a deep black hole. Maybe passing out would do me good. Maybe in that way, my head wouldn't hurt anymore because the pain was unbearable and I couldn't hold on.

"Sam? Sam, stay with me, stay with me!" G-Dragon called out to me.

But I let myself sink in deeper till I could see nothing more.

***

Zoey's P.O.V

I groaned when Sam finally passed out after G-Dragon called out to her to stay with him. I bit my lip and I knew I was in big trouble.

G-Dragon turned to look at me and I could read it on his face too.

We were all in big trouble.

"Sam?" Lee, who stood on the other side of the bed, called out to her again as she still held Sam's cheek. There was nothing we could do. Sam completely passed out.

Lee stood upright and looked at G-Dragon and I. She folded her arms and had a scorn on her face.

"Do you mind explaining to me what happened?" Lee asked.

G-Dragon and I were quiet. What could we say? That we wanted to surprise Sam and it didn't go as planned? Even if we were to make up a lie, the fact is Sam passed out and it's all our fault.

Lee didn't expect us to say anything as she turned to look at the end of the bed where Mike, Daniel and Christine stood. They too were in on this and were just as guilty as G-Dragon and I.

"Collins isn't going to like this at all," said Lee. "What were you thinking?"

"We just wanted to surprise her, that's all it was," I answered.

"But didn't you think twice that she might just hit herself in the process? She just passed out and look! She has a bruise on her forehead."

I turned to look at Sam who laid on the bed and she had a slight bruise on the head from where she hit the wooden drawer. From afar, you couldn't even tell that it was even there. The bruise would heal quickly within a few days, I don't know if Sam was ever going to heal from this at all.

"So, I expect you guys were filming all this, weren't you?" Lee asked the other three at the end of the bed.

"No.... well...," Mike hesitated as he hid his phone behind him. "Yes."

"Unbelievable! You guys are just great! What am I supposed to tell Collins when he notices the bruise on her forehead?"

"That she slipped and fell by accident?" I suggested as I bit my lip.

"I'm not Sam whose a pretty good liar and is willing to save you from Collins all the time! What you did was unforgivable and I don't know what to say to Collins when he finds out about this."

"We're sorry," said Daniel. "We didn't mean for this to happen."

Lee sighed. As she much as she was angry, she still felt sorry for us.

"You should be saying sorry to the person you almost killed today." She turned to look at G-Dragon and I. "I don't know about you two, because I know you're the masterminds behind all this. Just pray that Sam will be willing to forgive you. I'll go get the first aid kit."

Lee walked out of the room. We were all quiet for a while until Lee was out of earshot.

"This is all your fault!" I blurted out pointing my finger at G-Dragon.

"Me!" he turned around on the bed to look at me. "You said me lying on the bed with her acting as the panda was a good idea."

"Do you know what, we're all to blame here," said Christine.

"Ya, but who came up with the freaking idea?" Mike asked.

Everyone's eyes turned on me and I shrugged my shoulders in defense.

"You can't possibly blame me for all this. If it's anyone to blame, it's GD. He was the one who wanted to surprise Sam."

"I had a different thing in mind until you came up with this stupid idea," said G-Dragon.

"Maybe you shouldn't be listening to my ideas in the future then!"

"That we can totally agree for once," said Mike. "Your ideas could land anyone in prison or worse. You almost got my sister killed."

"I also feel bad, okay? She's my best friend and the one person I truly care about."

G-Dragon turned to look at Sam, still unconscious. For a moment there, you would think she was fast asleep. She looked like an angel. If anything worse had happened, I would never forgive myself. But I still couldn't help but worry though. What if the bump to her head causes her to lose her memory? I bit my lip at the thought of that and I prayed for it not to come to pass.

G-Dragon sighed. "Now Sam will never forgive me," he said.

"Aww, don't say that," said Christine. "She will be mad..... for a really long time."

"You aren't helping," I said rolling my eyes at Christine.

"No, she's right," said G-Dragon. "Sam is going to be pretty mad at me when she wakes up and probably wouldn't want to see me."

"You're way better," I said. "I'll have to face her wrath everyday."

"She'll easily forgive you since you're her best friend." G-Dragon looked at me with a frown.

"True," I shrugged my shoulders.

Even if I was comforting myself with this, I still felt I wasn't going to get away with it that easily.

Lee came in the room with a first aid kit and sat down on the bed to put up a band aid on Sam's head.

"You guys better get ready to head to YG," said Lee after she was done.

"We're going to YG?" I asked. "What for?"

"The only way you're ever going to know, is if you all go there."

"Are you being sarcastic on us right now?" I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think? I won't lie, I'm really mad at you for what you've done."

"I'm sorry, Lee. Trust me, this isn't what I wanted."

"Well, sorry isn't going to help you in the next five minutes because Collins sent the chauffeur to come pick you up and you aren't ready yet."

"Gotta go," said Daniel as he and his older brother dashed out of the room.

Christine also ran out of the room in a panic. If there was one thing Collins didn't like, is us running late.

"I better go take a quick shower too," I stood up from the bed as I looked at Sam one last time.

"You'll also have to go with them, Ji Yong," said Lee.

"But what for?" he asked. "I want to be here when Sam wakes up."

"Unfortunately, your managers want BigBang, The Toxins, BlackPink and WINNER to all be there. So, I'm afraid you've to go and let Sam rest."

"But why do they all need us there for?" I asked.

"I'm not saying a word," said Lee. "I would have given you a hint but, I'm afraid I can't."

"Because of Sam?"

"Because you're standing there wasting time."

"Oh." I quickly dashed for the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

I'm not really sure how I was done getting ready within minutes, because I found myself downstairs in the lobby, heading for the entrance. As I passed through the front door, paparazzi flooded around me like a swarm of bees, capturing pictures.

These were the times I would sometimes pause for the camera. One thing I liked was getting attention and having my picture taken. I would even pause to have my good side taken. But today, I felt really different.

I felt irritated that they were around and trying to chase them away would seem rude. But that's why security guards were around for. Two guards appeared in front of me to create room, keeping the paparazzi away. I felt glad that I could finally breathe and walk up straight to the SUV. Now I knew how Sam felt.

"Looks like someone isn't in the mood for the spotlight today," said Christine as I sat next to her and closed the door.

"Don't make fun of me," I said as I rolled my eyes.

The driver started the car and drove out of the hotel premises. G-Dragon followed behind us in his own car and Lee remained behind to take care of Sam.

"It feels so weird that Sam isn't here," said Daniel in the back seat.

"Tell me about it," I said as I looked out of the window. "It feels like she's been away forever when it's only been a few minutes."

"I just wonder what Lee told Collins about Sam," said Mike who sat with his brother at the back.

"Do you think she might have told him the truth?" I asked, turning to look at Mike.

"She did sound serious that she had no idea how she was going to defend us. She might as well have told him the truth."

"I hope not." I turned to look in front again.

"If only Sam hadn't gone unconscious she would have at least made up something to explain the bruise on her head," said Christine. "Luckily it wasn't even that serious."

"But we made her fall unconscious." I looked at Christine. "Now that's serious. What if she wakes up and she has no idea of who she is?"

There was a long silent pause in the car and I could tell the others were now thinking of the dire consequences that might follow.

"Don't say such things," said Daniel. "It won't happen. Not to my sister. And you better stop thinking like that or else you will have us all worried."

"Besides, you and G-Dragon will be the ones to pay for it since you two came up with the idea in the first place," said Mike.

"Okay, okay," I said. "I shouldn't have brought that up since you're now attacking me again. Let's change the subject."

Again, there was silence. We were all trying to figure out what to talk about next and forget about what happened to Sam.

"Why do you think they need us at YG for?" Christine asked.

"I've no clue," I replied. "Calling in four groups means something is definitely going on."

"Wait, it's not only us they called to go there?" Mike asked.

"BigBang, BlackPink and WINNER," I answered.

"Mmmm, can it have something to do with BTW?" Daniel asked.

"Maybe," said Mike. "Makes perfect sense to me."

"But why bring in BigBang then?" I asked with my arms folded. "They are not part of BTW."

"Maybe they plan on bringing in BigBang in to it too," said Daniel.

"No way, that will completely change the name," said Christine. "It might as will be BBTW or B squared TW."

"B squared TW doesn't sound that bad," I said.

"Well, I doubt that," said Mike. "If there is anyone who wouldn't want to have our groups all put together, it's G-Dragon."

I winced. I totally forgot what he did to us after BTW went to the mall and made a name for ourselves. He almost got us into trouble. But hey, who could keep a grudge on G-Dragon? I know Sam can, but it was one that wouldn't last forever. She only had a mere hate for him which wasn't that serious.

"You're right," I said. "Maybe the managers have something else up their sleeves."

"Just like Lee said, there is only one way to find out," said Christine. "We're finally here."

The car drove through the open gate entering the parking lot. G-Dragon's car came in behind us. When the car had finally packed, I looked out the car window and who I saw standing by the entrance of the YG building, made me yelp.

"Collins' there," I announced to the others who were ready to get out of the car.

They all looked out the window and Collins just stood by the entrance with his arms folded. He had a serious look on his face. Were we that late or was he mad at us for some reason?

"He looks angry," said Mike. "Do you think he knows?"

"I don't know," I said as I shrugged my shoulders. "This is scary."

"We can't stay in the car forever," said Daniel. "It will look suspicious. We have already lasted thirty seconds in here."

"Ya, you're right. We better go."

I opened the car door and stepped out first. Christine followed behind, then the boys. G-Dragon was already out of his car and approaching Collins.

We also slowly started our approach, scared that Collins might just yell at us for what happened to Sam. He gave us a stern eye as we came closer. I for one was ready for the blow he was going to throw at us.

"You're here just in time," said Collins when we stopped in front of him. "Let's go. The others are waiting."

Collins went through the door and entered the lobby. I grew really confused and so were the others. I turned to look at G-Dragon right beside me and I bet he wasn't expecting this from Collins either.

"Are you coming or not?" Collins called out to us at the door. We all snapped out of it and quickly went through the door.

As we headed for the elevator, I couldn't help but look at Collins and wonder why he didn't seem angry. I know I'm not supposed to poke the bear when it's asleep, but I couldn't help but ask:

"Aren't you wondering why Sam isn't with us, Collins?"

We were by the elevator when I asked this question and Collins pressed the up button to summon the elevator. He turned to look at me.

"I know what happened to Sam," he replied.

"You....you do?" I gulped.

"Lee told me. But right now, we have a lot to focus on."

Collins faced the elevator again and I was shocked by his reply. Could it be that Lee lied to him about Sam's accident? Or was he acting all cool and calm and was going to deal with us later on?

I turned to the others who also had the same worried look as I had. Except G-Dragon. He seemed so calm amidst all the problems. I wish I was just like him. His calm composure somehow reminded me of Sam.

The elevator door opened in front of us and we all stepped in the elevator. We got off the elevator when the doors flew open again and we followed Collins down the hall. This is the same floor where we met our managers and G-Dragon in the boardroom last time.

Collins led us to the same boardroom. He opened the door to the room and we followed him as he got in first. We found all four members of BlackPink, WINNER and BigBang already settled round the table. Collins went to the other end of the round table to join Yang Hyun-suk.

"Glad you're all here," said Yang Hyun-suk. "Please, take a seat."

We all went for the empty chairs in front of us and settled down. I sat next to Rosé and I couldn't help the fact that she was staring at me. She wasn't the only one. Everyone else apart from our two managers were staring at us, The Toxins. That could only mean one thing.

They noticed that Sam's missing.

I was staring at the polished wooden table when I looked up and sitting across me from the table was Seunghoon. He threw me a look and mouthed out where Sam was. I didn't mouth out a word or give out a sign. I didn't know what to say.

Rosé was just about to whisper in my ear when Yang Hyun-suk spoke:

"Now that you're all here, it's best we get down to business. As you all know, we had an issue about BTW. The paperwork has already been set and in a few days, it's going to be official."

I smiled and Rosé beside beamed at me. The rest of WINNER and BlackPink also had excited looks on their faces. And so did the other Toxins despite the sad looks on our faces we had earlier.

"I bet you're all wondering when all this will happen," continued Yang Hyun-suk. "Well, it's going to happen a lot sooner than you think."

The rest of us started to look at each other at the table. I now felt like I was in a horror movie.

"The same day BigBang and The Toxin's song is released will be the same day BTW will made official and announced to the whole world."

"What?" G-Dragon and I asked at the same time. Since we sat close to each other, we ended up staring at each other too.

"I think he made it pretty clear," said Collins. "The day your song will be released is the day BTW will be made official."

"Sounds exciting," said Taeyang who sat across the table alongside Seunghoon. "This will definitely surprise the fans."

"Totally awesome," said Lisa.

Everyone else started to talk amongst themselves while I sat there and thought. As much as I felt really happy about this, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

Sam.

I sighed. She would have been very happy to hear this. I felt really sad that she wasn't here to hear the news firsthand.

"Hey," came Rosé as she held my shoulder that brought me back down to earth. "You're usually the excited one, why aren't you happy upon hearing the news?"

What I could I tell her? That instead of feeling happy I almost killed my best friend this morning and left her unconscious? No way!

"I'm happy, I just have a little headache," I lied, as I tried to smile.

If there is one thing I totally sucked at, it's lying. Somehow, people would see beyond it and Rosé already gave me a questioning look.

"Are you sure? You seem fine but sad," she said.

"No, it's nothing serious," I said. "I'm fine."

"Where's Sam anyway? Is she alright?"

"Ummmm," I bit my lip as I thought of what to say next. Luckily, I was saved by the bell.

"Okay, I know we're all excited," said Yang Hyun-suk, capturing all our attention. "So, BTW and BigBang, you better organise yourselves. We're planning to have a special event that day so we better start getting ready now."

"Okay, but if the song is being released soon, why hasn't there been any teasers yet?" TOP asked.

Oh, right! The teasers. I forgot they do that here in Korea for their music videos. They always release teasers before the actual release date of the song.

"Don't worry about the teasers," said Collins. "The first one is coming out a lot sooner than you think."

"So, for the meantime," said Yang Hyun-suk, "you will meet with the organisers preparing the event. I hope you will all cooperate as planned. They will be here in a few minutes. We will leave you to it."

The two managers got up from their seats and made their way to the door. For some reason, I didn't want them to leave. Maybe it's because immediately they do, I was going to be fired with questions from the others concerning Sam's whereabouts.

When the managers left, I felt the air in the room suddenly change. Then.....

"Hey, where's Sam?" Seungri asked as he looked at me. "Wasn't she supposed to come along with you guys?"

I didn't say anything as I gulped. What was I going to say? That we left Sam unconscious back at the hotel? I had to think of something because the looks everyone had on their faces was only going to look worse when I tell them the truth.

I looked over at Christine who sat to G-Dragon's left. She was also looking back at me wondering what to do. I wish Sam was here. She would have known what to do, that's if she hadn't fallen unconscious.

"Aren't any of you going to say anything?" Seunghoon asked. "What happened to Sam?"

"Nothing," I spoke up looking at Seunghoon. "Sam's fine."

"Then why isn't she here?" Daesung asked. "Did something happen to her?"

"No," Christine and I replied at the same time.

"Then what's going on?" Lisa asked. "When you all came here, you had worried looks on your faces as though someone just died."

Upon mentioning death, there was a strong, cold silence in the room. I didn't like this feeling at all. I soon developed goosebumps.

"Okay, your silence is killing us," said Taeyang. "Zoey, tell us. Something happened to Sam that you aren't telling us. Is she okay?"

I bit my lip as I looked at Taeyang. I know he was asking me calmly to answer, but I couldn't. I felt everyone else was bound to tear my throat out if I spat out the truth.

"No, Sam isn't fine at all," said Daniel.

I suddenly turned to look at Daniel with a surprised look on my face. I wasn't the only one. G-Dragon, Christine and Mike all turned to look at him, also with surprised looks on their faces. Except from everyone else in the room who apparently grew worried.

"What happened? Did she fall ill?" Mino asked.

"She had a bad headache and wasn't feeling too well," Daniel replied. "That's why she stayed behind."

"Oh, you should have said so earlier," said Jisoo. "For a moment there, we all thought the worse had happened to her."

"You've no idea," I muttered, rubbing my temple.

"What did you say?" Rosé asked.

"I'm just sad that Sam isn't here," I said, after I cleared my throat.

"Why don't we all go and see her after all this is done?" Jennie suggested.

"No!" The four of us Toxins answered at the same time.

Everyone turned to look at us with suspicious looks on their faces. I noticed G-Dragon at the corner of his eye roll his eyes finding all of this ridiculous.

"Why not?" Seungyoon asked.

"I don't think Lee will like it if you all go there to see her," said Mike. "She needs Sam to rest a little more and that's why she is there taking care of her."

"But I don't think checking up on her would be that bad," said TOP. "We'll just go there and see how she's doing and that's it."

"Just like you, Zoey, we're all worried about Sam," said Rosé. "It will be great to see how she's doing."

I smiled but it wasn't genuine. I had to go with the flow or else I might just mess this up even further.

I nodded my head. "You're right," I said. "She will be happy to see you all."

"What do you think, GD?" Jinwoo asked. "You've been quiet the whole time."

Great! Now GD is going to get us into real trouble. I turned to look at him trying to give him a signal to at least say something that wouldn't get us into further trouble. I wondered what he was going to say since no one else knew that he was at the hotel this morning.

"Sorry, my head's in the clouds today," said G-Dragon. "But I think it's a good idea that we should all go and see Sam."

Well, this just got interesting. He is actually lying in everybody's faces. I saw the other Toxins give G-Dragon a surprising look. I bet they didn't expect him to lie at all.

I saw Taeyang give his best friend a questioning look. It was obvious he could smell that something fishy is going on. Well, if he though that way, his intuition was very much right. And that reminded of how Sam's intuition never failed her.

I wasn't ready for the next statement or question to be all about Sam, because so far, talking about her made me miss her a lot and also guilty because of the accident. Before anyone else could say anything concerning her, I changed the topic.

"So, when do you think the first teaser will be released?" I asked.

"Collins wasn't specific about the day, so, it could be any day from now," said Daesung.

"But a whole lot sooner," said Lisa.

"Well, I hope it's really soon," said Mike.

While everyone started talking about the teaser, I couldn't help but drift off into space. This usually never happens and I was actually surprised when I realised it seconds later. Where was my head at today? I am definitely not myself at the moment.

I looked at everyone around the table and they were all talking with smiles on their faces. For a moment, I felt like I was stuck in some kind of void where I felt all alone.

"Zoey, Zoey?"

"Huh?"

"Okay, something is definitely wrong with you," came Rosé, who held my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I wanted to shout out to the whole world that I wasn't fine at all but my phone started ringing.

"Hold on for a second," I told Rosé and took my phone out of the little strap purse I carried. When I looked at the caller ID, I quickly stood up from my chair in surprise.

"Zoey, are you okay?" Mino asked, but I ignored him as I quickly answered the call.

"Hello? Sam! Are you okay!"

"Arrgh! Dang it, Zoey! Not so loud! My head still aches," Sam complained over the other side of the phone.

"You remember my name!" I was completely overwhelmed that my eyes were almost filled with tears.

"Of course I remember your name. What do you think happened? That I lost my memory or something?"

"Well, da! I was actually worried. We all were. You could have died!"

Immediately I said that, I realised I just released a massive bombshell on everyone in the room. I quickly covered my mouth. It was already too late. Sam was right when she told me I had a big mouth a number of times.

The whole room grew quiet and all eyes fell on me. I looked at the Toxins and not only did they seem surprised like everyone else, they were pissed. And the look on G-Dragon's face was so hard to read that it felt scary.

"Anyway, I'm fine," Sam continued over the phone. "I woke up a couple of minutes ago."

"Okay," I said calmly as I slowly sat back down on my seat. I could still feel everyone's eyes on me because their stare felt like piercing needles.

"Are you okay? You don't sound fine at all, almost like me."

"I was just worried about you. Now that you're okay, I feel much better."

"Mmmm. Wait until Collins sees what you and G-Dragon did to me. You're in for it this time."

"Trust me, you don't know what I'm in because of this right now," I said as I looked up at everyone who still had their eyes on me. This time, they looked upset.

"Ya, I bet you're. I called you because you probably haven't been online."

"I'm impressed. You suddenly went online after so long."

"I'm always online, Zoey. I just don't like reading stuff about me all the time and you know that. Anyway, just called to tell you that the first teaser is out."

My eyes grew wide open with surprise. "For real?" I asked with so much excitement.

"It's was released on YouTube five minutes ago. I wanted to let you know because you guys have obviously been stuck in the meeting. Lee told me what will be going on today, so, no need to tell me about BTW."

"Okay, okay, um, can I call you back?" I asked jumping on my seat like my butt was on fire.

"Ya, sure, you're probably anxious. And maybe whatever trouble you're in will sort itself out with the teaser."

Sam cut the call and before I could tell the news to everyone, Seungyoon spoke up first.

"What going on, Zoey?" he asked. "A moment ago, you said Sam wasn't fine because of a headache. Now you were talking to Sam saying that she would've have died!"

I gulped. Yep. I am totally in for it now. As much as I was scared, I still wanted to tell the others about the teaser. Who knows? Sam might be right and the teaser might just save my neck.

"What do you've to say for yourself?" Taeyang asked.

"Guys, I know you're all mad at me," I started, "but there is something you should know."

"Yes, please tell us," said Seunghoon, who looked pretty upset than the rest of the others. "What really happened to Sam?"

I shook my head with my eyebrow raised. "What? I thought you were going to allow me to tell you what I had to say concerning something else."

"We want to know why you didn't tell us about Sam earlier," said Lisa. "Lying to us was completely not cool."

"I know, I know," I said impatiently. "But can we not talk about that. I've something to say."

I noticed Mino roll his eyes at me. "Really? What could be so important than Sam's health."

"Well, you just heard me talking to Sam right now and she's fine. She called to tell me something important."

"That can wait," said Seungri. "I want to know what happened and why she isn't here in the first place."

Everyone else apart from the Toxins and G-Dragon started muttering among themselves in agreement. Great! I felt like I just found myself in Wizard court and their final jugement would be that I'll turn into a frog and stay that way for the rest of my life.

"Listen people," I said. "I know lying to you all was wrong, but why are you all attacking me as though I was there alone? You should be asking the others instead."

"Why should they?" Mike asked as he looked at me. "It's not our fault that Sam fell unconscious."

Jennie gasped "What? She fell unconscious?"

"Great, Mike! You're making everything ten times worse," I said.

"This wouldn't be happening if you hadn't spat out the truth like that in the first place," said Christine.

"Really, now? I wasn't the one who lied to everyone in the first place that Sam had a bad headache."

"Don't look at me," said Daniel. "You would have done the same thing and would still have spat out the truth like you did just now."

I opened my mouth to lash back but stopped midway, contemplating over what Daniel had said.

"You might be right on that," I finally admitted.

"We're so sorry, everyone," said Mike. "We should have told you from the start what really happened to Sam."

"Ya, I'm the sorry one," said Zoey. "It's pretty much my fault that Sam fell unconscious. But it's GD's fault too."

I bet no one saw that coming. If I was going down, I was taking everyone involved with me. Even if it meant taking GD too.

"Really, Zoey?" G-Dragon turned to look at me with an annoyed look on his face.

"You also had a role to play in this like I did," I told him. "And mind you, she's pretty mad at the both of us so we better start writing an apology letter."

"Typical." G-Dragon rolled his eyes at me.

"You were also at the hotel?" Taeyang asked. "I knew something was up when I saw you five all walk in together. It felt a little weird that you all came at the same time."

Yep, Taeyang's spidey senses were tingling all along. I felt proud of myself that I knew that he knew that something fishy was going on.

"Things like that happen sometimes," said Daniel. "Some people can't really tell anyway."

"Now will someone please tell us what really happened to Sam?" TOP asked. This time he was looking at G-Dragon and I.

This was going to be tricky. I can't tell them all that happened. Instead of being at mad at both G-Dragon and I, everyone will mostly get mad at me instead. Now didn't feel like the best time to tell them. So, I played out the tramp card.

"The teaser for the music video is out," I said.

TOP gave me a confused look. "What?"

"Wait a minute, the teaser is already out?" G-Dragon asked also with a confused look on his face.

"Daaa, that's what I've been trying to tell you guys," I said. "It's the reason why Sam called tell me."

"You're lying," said Lisa. "How can we possibly believe you after you lied to us about Sam?"

"Look, you can take it leave it or leave it, but one thing's for sure, Sam wouldn't lie about something this important." I stared up at the ceiling. "That's if she's trying to mess with me because the bump on her head was pretty serious."

"She hit her head?" Jinwoo asked sounding surprised.

"Why don't we all check out the teaser?" Christine suggested as she drew out her phone from her purse.

Everyone else did the same. I went back to looking at my own phone and went straight to YouTube. What I saw on the home page at the top of the list was the teaser. Sam was right all along. The teaser had been released.

Everyone watched the one minute video teaser and it seemed they all liked it. I also did too. Soon we were all talking about how the actual music video was going to turn out and that kept us occupied as we waited for the organisers to arrive.

With the sudden change in the atmosphere, it felt like I hadn't been in the interrogation room I was in a few minutes ago. I felt relieved when I saw everyone looking happy, forgotten that they were ever mad at us for lying.

Whenever I always get into trouble, somehow Sam always finds a way of getting me out of it. I might be in a lot of trouble with her and Collins when I get back to the hotel, but facing them was the least of my worries. Right now, I was happy that Sam was okay and the first teaser of our music video was out. And also that none of my friends were not mad at me at the moment.

It's somehow surprising how Sam could be so right at times, even when you think it might not go exactly the way she predicted it. She did say the teaser might just get me out of the trouble I was in at the time.

And it really did.


	14. Chapter 13: Being an EXO-L

Zoey's P.O.V

After the little incident we had with Sam yesterday, it turned out that Collins knew from the very beginning that we were the cause of her not attending the meeting. Lee had told him the whole truth after all and he was just waiting to get back to the hotel to talk to us about it. Including G-Dragon. The blame was mostly on me because I thought of the idea in the first place. The others got away with it scott free, even G-Dragon. On my part it was completely unfair that I got blamed for everything alone.

As for Sam, she was completely mad at us for what we did. As usual, she pointed her anger towards G-Dragon and I. As much as she was upset with us, I was just glad she was okay. And so were the others. Though I was a little worried about G-Dragon and Sam's relationship. It looks like I just made things a lot harder for G-Dragon this time around.

Today, we had gone for dance practise early in the morning at YG. Soon afterwards, we were supposed to meet the organising team that were planning for the special event.

We had a number of things to do today. As much as there were things to do during the event, we also had to perform and that meant more practice. Sounds tiring indeed.

We the Toxins headed for one of the large scale rehearsal buildings outside the main YG building. There we found BlackPink waiting by the entrance. They all screamed with glee upon seeing us and ran towards us. Most of us knew why.

"Sam, you're okay!" Lisa reached Sam first and hugged her. Sam hugged her back and the other three BlackPink members surrounded her into a hug too.

"Good to see you," said Sam with a smile on her face. The four BlackPink members broke away from her. "I really missed you, girls. You've no idea."

"We were so worried about you when we heard about your little accident," said Jisoo. "But you're fine, right?"

"I'm okay as ever."

"So, aren't you going to give any of us a hug too?" I asked.

Jennie rolled her eyes at me. "After what you did, it's pretty hard to do so," she said as she twirled her hair.

"Really? Just because of a simple lie?" I rolled my eyes. "We did all that so that none of you would get worried."

"Well, you were still supposed to tell us. As serious as it was, we deserve to know because we're your friends," said Rosé.

"You're right," said Christine. "And we will never stop apologising because it was wrong of us to lie to you."

"True," said Mike. "I would also say the same. We're truly sorry."

"Me too," said Daniel. "I wouldn't like what happened to my sister to ever happen again."

"Awww, so sweet," said Lisa as she looked at Daniel. "You deserve my hug."

Lisa went over to hug Daniel and he was caught completely off guard. I could clearly see him blushing like the cute little boy that he is.

"I think you, Mike, deserve mine," said Jennie, and she went to hug him. I noticed a tiny smile on his face.

"Christine deserves mine too," said Jisoo. And likewise, went to hug Christine.

So that left me with Rosé.

"Aren't I going to receive a hug?" I asked, looking at her.

Jennie folded her arms and looked the other way, completely ignoring me. Sam looked at me, wanting to laugh. She clearly saw all of this funny and I on the other hand, felt irritated. I threw Sam a look but she still wanted to laugh so bad that she turned the other way and covered her mouth.

"Whatever," I said rolling my eyes like I didn't care. "I don't deserve one, anyway."

"Look who just showed up alive and kicking," came Mino's voice behind me.

Sam and I turned around and there was Mino with the rest of WINNER coming towards us. Mino already had his arms outstretched and reached Sam first to hug her.

"Hi, Mino," said Sam as he hugged him back. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the two of them as I twirled a strand of my hair.

"How are you doing?" he asked as he looked at Sam. "You had us all worried."

"As you can see, I'm fine," said Sam as she rubbed the right side of her forehead. Her bruise was barely even noticeable. It healed up pretty quickly from yesterday.

Seunghoon came and quickly pushed Mino aside just to hug Sam.

"Wow, chill out, hyung," Mino complained as he stared at Seunghoon. "You could've hurt me."

"I missed you so much, Sam," said Seunghoon, still hugging Sam and not caring that he almost knocked Mino over.

"Seunghoon, I'm fine," said Sam. "You can stop hugging me, you're squeezing me too tight."

"Oh, sorry." He let go of Sam and smiled at her.

"It's good to have you back, Sam," said Seungyoon.

"Ya, it feels good to be back," said Sam.

"So, are you excited about the news?" Jinwoo asked.

"About BTW? Definitely. I think it will be so cool to have both BTW officially announced and the music video being released on the same day."

"Hey, girls," greeted Mino as he waved towards BlackPink.

BlackPink also waved at him and to the rest of WINNER too. WINNER also ended up greeting the other Toxins. I couldn't help but feel I was being totally ignored today and that was almost setting me up in flames.

"Hello, people," I said waving my hand in the air to grab everyone's attention. "Are we all forgetting someone here?"

Nobody said a word as they all looked at me.

"Isn't anyone going to say anything?" I asked. "You've all been ignoring me like am a nobody when I'm definitely somebody."

"We know, Zoey," said Sam. "We aren't ignoring you."

"Oh, ya? Then tell me what everyone else is doing? BlackPink don't want to hug me at all and WINNER didn't even say hi to me!"

Everyone else except Sam and the other Toxins, started muttering among themselves and they made their way into the studio building. The three other Toxins followed them, leaving Sam and I outside.

"What's wrong with everyone today?" I asked as I watched them go. "It's not fair that people still blame me for what happened to you."

"Well, you still can't deny that it was all your fault," said Sam as she looked at me.

"Ya, I know. I regret ever doing that to you, better yet, lying to everyone else about your accident."

"Maybe you should apologise."

I closed my eyes in frustration and opened them again. "I did so yesterday."

"Maybe you should continue doing so until they feel sorry for you. It's just like what the others did earlier."

"You guys are so unfair. You're giving me a hard time just because of an 'accident.' Did you see the way Mino ignored me today? It's so unlike him."

Sam gave me a sad smile. "I know it's hard. But just know they don't hate you. They are just upset. You will see that they will come around."

"And do you hate G-Dragon for what he did?"

I noticed her blush and was planning to divert her eyes the other way, but surprisingly, she still kept them fixed on me.

"I don't hate G-Dragon," she answered. "What he did was totally weird and wrong, but I can't keep a grudge on him forever when I know all this was practically your fault."

"Don't try to blame me for this all over again. Are you still upset because of what he did to us last time with BTW?"

Sam looked towards the clear blue sky in thought. She looked back at me.

"I don't know anymore," she said. "I want to say that I'm still mad at him for that, but now, I can't really tell what I'm mad at him for."

"Huh?" That statement sent me spinning in circles. As much as Sam is one of the smartest people I know, sometimes she would talk jibberish that you tend to wonder if she's acting weird or you're just the dumb one. And I don't like being the dumb one.

"You didn't get it, did you?" Sam asked, looked like she noticed the confusion all over my face.

"No, Professor Glasson, because that made no sense."

She sighed. "You're right. You'll understand later on. Come on," she jerked her head to the side, pointing to the trailer. "Let's go."

We started our way in through the huge metal door when I asked:

"Does that mean you forgive him?"

"Forgive him for what?" Sam asked as soon as we were inside.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. You said you do hate him but you don't know what for and then you say you can't hate him forever, so, it's so confusing."

"Don't stress yourself on the subject. Even I don't know what I said."

I rolled my eyes at her. "You're so weird."

"I know," she said with a smile as she looked at me.

We approached the others standing in the massive studio space. There were people around the place setting up a construction set for the event. I couldn't wait to see how things will look on the final day.

When we got to the others who were also looking around the construction set, we noticed that BigBang were among them too.

"Sam? You're here," said Daesung after he turned around and noticed the two of us approach.

Sam waved at Daesung and soon the whole BigBang members looked our way.

"Ah, my panda is okay," said Seungri with so much excitement as he came over and held Sam in his arms. He lifted her off the ground and spun her around.

Sam laughed with joy, her laugh echoing around the place as Seungri continued to spin her around. She told him to put her down. Seungri did as he was told. Sam still couldn't stop laughing.

"Don't you ever do that again," said Sam in between laughs.

"I missed your laugh, that's why," said Seungri. "It's good to have you back, my panda."

"I just missed everything about her," said TOP. "Her laugh, her smile, everything."

I noticed Sam blush and said, "you really know just how to make me blush, Choi. It isn't fair."

"Ha, but you're so cute when you blush," said Taeyang.

"Too cute," said Seunghoon.

I shook my head at what was happening in front of me but I couldn't help but smile when I saw Sam smiling. I realised that yesterday wasn't quite the same without her and I am glad that she was back.

I noticed G-Dragon standing alongside Mike looking towards the set construction. The two seemed to be talking about something and it felt strange that G-Dragon hadn't acknowledged Sam's presence like everybody else had. I walked over to him and held his shoulder to grab his attention.

"Oh, hi, Zoey," he said as he turned around to look at me.

"Finally!" I looked up to the wide dome shaped ceiling in relief. "Someone has finally said hi to me this morning."

"What's wrong? No one has greeted you?" G-Dragon asked.

"Apart from my group members and you, everyone's completely ignoring me today."

"They are just upset," said Mike. "I bet Sam has already told you that."

"Ya, she did. Trust me, this feels weird on so many levels. Are you experiencing the same thing, GD?"

"No," G-Dragon answered. "Apparently, everyone said hi to me."

I rolled my eyes. "Typical. So, what do you think the set is going to be like?"

Mike and G-Dragon looked back at the set being worked upon.

"No, idea," said Mike. "GD and I were trying to figure it out too."

"It's going to be so awesome," I said as I saw the main stage with other structures being set on it. At the moment, you couldn't really tell what they were yet.

"Hey, I noticed that you haven't said hi to Sam," I said to G-Dragon. He turned to look at me.

"Is that a problem?" he asked.

"Well, you've always liked her and cared about her. Yesterday, you almost looked like you were about to kill yourself when she fell unconscious."

"True. But I bet she's still mad at me. So, I would rather stay out of her way for now."

"Are you seriously going to do so?" Mike asked with an eyebrow raised. "The way you always look at my sister tells a different story. You won't be able to hold yourself away from her that long. Not when Seunghoon looks at her the same way you do."

"Since when have you been a love expert?" I asked looking at Mike.

"I only observe," Mike answered. "I'm not a love expert."

"But Mike is right though. Seunghoon is your competition, GD. And he isn't the only one."

G-Dragon and Mike turned to look at me with questioning looks on their faces.

"What do you mean he isn't the only one?" G-Dragon asked.

"Oh, I won't tell you," I said playfully as I laughed.

Mike nodded his head at me and had a smirk on his face. "I think I know who she's talking about," he said.

I liked the fact that Mike also knew, since he was just an observer after all. And it's hilarious seeing that look on G-Dragon's face. Maybe then he would wake up and realise that Seunghoon wasn't his only threat. I also wasn't going to tell him that he was up against some of the BTS members who couldn't stop staring at Sam the whole time we were having fun at the arcade the other day. And since I was in contact with EXO, some of them couldn't stop pestering me when they were ever going to meet Sam in person.

Speaking of EXO, I received a message from Suho last night, saying that they were going to have a concert today and they invited The Toxins. I hadn't told the others yet because I wanted it to be a surprise. The only people I told about this was Collins and Lee. Collins agreed that we can go after we were done here at YG since the concert was taking place this evening.

"I don't like it that you two are acting suspicious," said G-Dragon.

"Oh, never mind us," said Mike with a smirk on his face. "All we were trying to do is warn you that you shouldn't be surprised when another person apart from Seunghoon asks her out one of these fine days."

"True," I said. "So, you better pull up your socks if you want to be the only guy Sam will ever remember when we leave this place."

G-Dragon gave me a weird look and I so much as wanted to laugh out loud, but Sam approached us and none of us hadn't noticed until she was close.

"Hey, the organisers are here," she said. I noticed her look at G-Dragon. "Hi, GD," she greeted him.

Mike and I had both of our mouths open in shock. Sam actually said "hi" to G-Dragon. Well, that was the talk of the day.

I noticed G-Dragon blush for a minute and for a moment, he seem to hesitate until he finally spoke up, "hi, Sam. How are you doing today?"

"Never better," she replied. "We better get going."

She didn't smile at him but at least that was a sure start that she might not be mad at G-Dragon like she said is. She didn't look upset either. Looks like someone was playing stoic today. I had to admit, I didn't expect her to greet GD at all.

She quickly made her way to join the others who were gathered around in a circle with the organisers. At the moment, they were going through what we discussed yesterday so that Sam wouldn't feel left behind. The three of us who stood away from the others, slowly made our approach.

"Let me just say, I didn't expect Sam to even say a word to you, GD," said Mike.

"Tell me about it," I said as I gave G-Dragon a wink. "Looks like she's one step closer to to forgiving you."

"Well, I feel she's a million miles away from doing so," said G-Dragon.

"Oh, please! You might have messed up that time with BTW and with the awful surprise yesterday, but it's clear to see that she can't stay mad at you forever."

"Mike, Zoey, GD," came the voice of one of the female organisers, Ji Yeon. A pretty slim bodied woman with an attitude. She's one person I wouldn't like to be on her wrong side yet it looks like I'm starting to do so already. "Pay attention. We wouldn't be repeating this all the time, you know."

"Sorry," the three of us muttered at the same time like naughty kids caught doing something wrong in class.

There were four organisers spearheading this event. Ji Yeon being the only lady. The other organisers were okay and didn't seem so strict. Ji Yeon on the other hand, seem like a handful. To top it all off, she was our dance instructor for the event alongside a young man Ji Nun. Bummer. Ji Nun I can handle. But Ji Yeon, I might as well fear for my life.

We went over the routine they had planned out for us and that took almost an hour. What I wasn't really looking forward to, was the dance routine because of Miss Sharky. Ya, I nicknamed Ji Yeon Miss Sharky. She seemed that way to me anyway.

When it came to the dance routine, each group first had to perform their own song, that meant we each had our own dance routine. Then in the end, we would all come together as one big group and dance together.

One by one, we each had to pick a song of a group's choice. Then the two choreographers will take us through with the routine. BlackPink went first and I had to admit, the girls really knew how to make it work, though Ji Yeon wasn't really impressed and suggested some changes. She was a perfectionist, no doubt about that.

Each of the groups went through their dance routine and each had a recommendation from Ji Yeon that changes had to be made here and there. I had to admit, it was so not cool, especially when it came to us The Toxins because I thought the routine to our song was perfect. I mean, the song we danced to was a major hit and people loved the video mostly because of the dance moves.

We were soon had a lunch break and the four groups were all hurdled up in a circle. Luckily, the organisers had also left for their own lunch break.

"This is so unfair," I complained as I sat on the floor after taking a sip of water. "Did you see how that lady said she wasn't impressed with our dance moves? I was totally hurt."

"We all were," said Lisa. "Trust me, learning those moves killed me the first time and they still do till now."

"I've to admit though," said Seungyoon as he rubbed his neck. "She is pretty tough."

"At least someone has finally said it," I said. "I felt if I spoke out first, people would hate me for it."

"Seriously, Zoey?" Sam asked as she sat right beside me with an eyebrow raised. She knew why I said that and I pretended to ignore her.

Soon after lunch we went straight back to practising. This time, the two choreographers took us in with what they had planned for us to do that day. I had to admit, the whole thing felt like a process and we had to go through it a number of times. We weren't even done with the whole routine and it was already time up for the day. There would be more of it tomorrow and to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it just like I never used to look forward to the next day of school.

After hitting the showers, I found Sam and Christine in the changing room, already dressed up and waiting for for me. I had decided to take forever in the showers because I wanted us to be alone without BlackPink around.

"Gosh, you take forever, Zoey," said Christine as she sat on one of the benches in between the lockers placed on either side. "The other girls even left and I bet Mike and Daniel are waiting too."

"That's the thing," I said as I dried my hair with a towel. "I wanted it to be just us Toxins."

"What? You're planning to raid YG?" Sam asked.

I smiled at Sam. Sometimes her sarcasm always cracked me up.

"No, silly," I answered. "Though that does sound like the perfect plan. But apparently, Yang Hyun-suk scares me to death it's impossible to raid over his empire."

"True," Sam and Christine responded at the same time.

"Then why did you make us wait this long?" Christine asked. "It's close to evening now and I bet everyone else has already left."

"Oh, I won't tell you just yet," I said with a grin. "You just wait and see."

"I hope it's worth it," said Sam.

After I quickly dressed up and was ready to go, we walked out of the girl's changing room and found Daniel and Mike waiting for us in the hall.

"Hey, hope you guys didn't wait that long," said Sam and then she turned to look at me. "Zoey took forever to get ready."

"Next time, we should leave her all alone," said Mike. "Waiting for her has proven to be a burden sometimes."

"Thank you for that theory of nonsense, Mike," I said. "But, there is a reason why I wanted you all to remain here a little late."

"What now?" Daniel asked. "I hope you're not planning on some prank."

"Pranks are only for April Fool's Day. Let's go downstairs and you'll see."

We left the corridors to the changing rooms and we found ourselves down at the lobby. The place was almost deserted except for the receptionist by her desk and Lee who was waiting for us at the door.

"Hey, Lee," I said to her when we got close. "Did you get what I asked you?"

"Yep," said Lee and behind her laid a medium sized card box. She lifted it up from the floor and she looked at us with a smile on her face.

"What's in there?" Sam asked. "I just hope it's not another Pikachu costume. This time, I'm not the one wearing it."

"It's not another costume," I said. "Just open it and see for yourself."

Sam gave me a questioning look and went on ahead to open the box. She gasped when she saw what was inside.

"No, freaking way!" she said not believing her eyes as she pulled out a flashlight. It wasn't just any other ordinary flashlight.

It was an EXO lightstick with the EXO logo on it.

Christine also gasped and she soon reached inside the box and pulled out another EXO lightstick. The two girls looked at each other with bewilderment.

"Oh, cool, an EXO lightstick," said Daniel as he also came round to get one for himself. "Where did you get this, Lee?"

"I believe Zoey has something to tell you," said Lee as she looked at me.

I rolled my eyes playfully. "I don't know how I'm going to tell you this," I started, "but EXO invited us to their concert."

"Tonight?" Christine asked.

"Yep."

The both of us screamed with delight as we jumped up and down.

"This is so cool!" Christine said out loud. "We're going to an EXO concert."

"Seriously, this feels like a dream come true that it's actually happening," said Sam as she continued looking at the lightstick.

"I wanted this to be a surprise," I said. "They really can't wait to see you all in person and they thought inviting you to their concert was a perfect start."

"I'm going to meet EXO," said Christine as though she was going to run crazy. "This can't be real."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Mike asked as he came over to Lee and got a lightstick from the box. "Let's go!"

We all quickly walked out of the building and entered the SUV waiting for us in the parking lot. I had to admit, I was so excited like everyone else that we couldn't help but light up out lightsticks in the car. I bet those you drove past us would think there was a disco party going in the car. It didn't matter though. We were going to an EXO concert!

We arrived at the mass media centre where the concert was to take place. We found long queues outside and many EXO-Ls (fans of EXO) all looking excited and vibrant. Almost every EXO-L had a EXO lightsticks. And some had banners and t-shirts with either pictures of EXO on them or words written 사랑해 엑소 (Saranghae, EXO) (We Love you, EXO).

We went through the back of the building. Luckily, the fans hadn't noticed that The Toxins were around or else that would have caused a hell of a frenzy.

When we got round back and entered the building with security, we were taken to the one of the dressing rooms and we were told to wait there for EXO.

"Oh gosh, oh gosh," muttered Christine who hadn't sat down the entire time we came in the dressing room and was pacing up and down. "I finally get to meet EXO in real life."

"Can you please sit down?" Sam suggested. "You're going to get a whole lot of us nauseous.

"Sorry," said Christine as she stopped pacing. "I just can't help myself."

Lee who sat next to Sam near a dressing mirror rolled her eyes. "If only Collins could see you now."

"Well, he really shouldn't have let all of us go," said Mike. "I mean, those who could maintain their composure should have come and the others that can't, to remain behind."

"So that you can get to enjoy the concert yourself?" I asked. I shook my index finger at him. "No way. It's because of me that they invited us."

"No, I bet the reason why they did this is because they wanted to meet all of us in person," said Daniel who sat beside his brother. "You already met them at the mall and kept in contact with them since."

I rolled my eyes at him and looked at Sam. "He is becoming like you each and every day, you know. A know it all."

"Runs in the family," said Sam with a shrug.

"When is the concert going to start anyway?" Christine asked as she started pacing again.

"Goodness, Christine," said Lee. "Be patient. I bet they want to see you guys first, so chill."

As soon as Lee said that, the door to the room flew open. I gasped when I saw who walked in and at the same time, Christine and I screamed so loud with so much excitement.

Suho first walked in the room and the rest of EXO came in. They were all dressed in white. White slacks, white jumpers and stunning white sneakers. They looked like adorable angels. No, let me rephrase that. Adorable and hot angels.

Christine who was closet to them hugged Suho first. She was so excited and so was I. I went over to hug Chen who came in next.

"Hey," said Suho after Christine stopped hugging him. "I'm glad you all came."

Then all of the sudden, there was a loud shout out. And this time, it came from EXO. The next thing I knew, I saw Chanyeol, Sehun, Kai, Xiumin, Lay, D.O and Baekhyun dash past me heading for Sam. They were all happy and excited to see her for sure. They all surrounded her in a hug and I could see Sam almost on the verge of fainting from all the hugging.

"Okay, enough, guys," said Suho after he saw how Sam was struggling with most of the EXO members all surrounding her.

But the boys didn't seem to listen to their leader though. They were still so excited as they laughed still not believing that Sam was actually in front of them. Looked like most of them liked her just like I had anticipated.

"Okay, so not fair," said Chen. "We want to hug Sam too."

"I thought you would next say that," said Sam. Somehow, she managed to wiggle her away from the other seven EXO members. They were shocked when they found her outside the circle they had made around her.

"How did you do that?" Chanyeol asked with a shocked look on his face.

"That's a black kitty secret," said Sam as she smiled at them.

"Now, it's our turn to hug you," said Chen as he happily ran over to Sam and they both hugged each other.

Suho went over to hug Sam next. The rest of the other EXO members went on to greet the rest of us Toxins and Lee after realising that the rest of us were in the room.

"I'm so glad you're all here," said Suho. "The managers will be so excited to see that you're finally here."

"Trust me, it's such an honour that we're even here," said Daniel.

"This night is going to be awesome," said Kai.

"It already is," said Christine as she stared at Kai all dreamy eyed.

"I did just as I promised you," I said addressing EXO. "I brought The Toxins to you."

"Especially Sam," said Sehun as he hugged Sam from behind and he didn't look he planned on letting go for a long time. Sam rolled her eyes in irritation but at the same time, she couldn't help but smile.

"It's not fair that you get to hug Sam twice," said Lay with an annoyed look on his face.

"I am the maknae after all," Sehun pointed out.

"Maknae or not, Lay is right," said Baekhyun. "I also want to hug her too."

"Whoa!" Sam protested raising her hand to cool everyone down after breaking away from Sehun. "We can do all of that after the concert, don't you think? Right now, I think you better go on stage."

"Really?" Xiumin asked with a funny look on his face.

A knock came at the door and when Suho told the person to come in, it was one of the organising crew telling them that it was time to go.

"Told you," said Sam with a smirk.

"Wow! Are you sidekick or something?" D.O asked as he looked at her with bewilderment.

"Well, almost," said Mike. "Sam's full of surprises sometimes."

"Can't wait to see what other surprises are there in store for us," said Chanyeol who stood beside me with a huge a smile on his face.

"Okay, we better go," said Suho. "You guys will be taken in the front row."

Christine couldn't help but yelp. "I can't believe I get the front row seat at an EXO concert," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "It won't be the first time you're ever in the front row, now, would it?"

"Okay, let's go," said Chanyeol as he clapped his hands together. "Wish us luck."

Sam rolled her eyes. "You don't need it. Trust me."

"I'll trust her on that one," said D.O, giving her a smile.

"Make sure you raise those lightsticks high for us," said Suho.

"Oh, don't worry, we will," said Lee, waving her own in the air.

All the EXO members quickly ran out of the room. I had to admit, they looked really excited. Not only were they performing tonight, but we The Toxins had found the time to attend their concert.

Soon after they left, two security guards came to escort us backstage. We found the concert hall full of EXO fans all screaming with excitement. I couldn't help but feel excited with them as they waved their EXO flashlights in the air.

We were taken to the front roll right in front of stage. There were six seats reserved just for us. This was the kind of special treatment I liked. We had a clear view of the stage in front of us. And luckily, the hall was dark, except from the stage lights, so the time we got to our seats, not one EXO-L noticed that the Toxins were even around. I bet it was better this way. Though it wasn't going to last, that's for sure.

The concert soon went underway and there was aloud outburst from the fans when EXO appeared on stage. Including us Toxins. We waved our life EXO lightsticks, giving those boys in white our full support.

They opened the concert with the song "Monster" which was my personal favourite. They killed it on stage and some of us even danced to the song even Lee who stood right beside me. We Toxins danced anyway, since that's what we just love to do.

The next song they performed was "Lotto" and I couldn't help but sing the song out loud. My Korean is horrible that's for sure, but I sang my heart out anyway as I waved the flashlight in the air. I bet every EXO-L sang along too because the concert hall was filled with raised voices as EXO sang the song.

At the end of it all, the six of us had our shoulders around each other swaying side to side as we sang to the last part of the song. I had to admit, it felt great.

The concert had gone on for an hour. As much as I felt tired from all the dancing and since we were standing almost the entire time, I couldn't figure out why I was still energised to cheer for EXO on stage. I bet the others were trying to figure that out too because we had a pretty busy day with practice but we were still going on like the party was just getting started.

A good thirty minutes later, EXO started to be interactive to their fans and started to joke around on stage. I had to admit, it was kind of cute the way they did it and the fans, most especially the girls couldn't help but scream. I also couldn't help but scream too. Luckily we had Lee who understood Korean was able to translate for us what they were telling their fans. I got a few Korean words at some point so it wasn't really that hard afterwards.

Then, something happened. Suho on stage had announced that The Toxins were in the building and that kind of set an exciting uproar among the EXO-L. And that apparently made a few fans behind notice us in front of them that they screamed so loud. They pointed out that we were here and to make things even more dramatic, the stage light shone on us. The whole place was in an uproar when our faces were shown on the jumbo screen on stage.

Suho and the rest of EXO came down the stage and came to where we sat and escorted to us on stage. Lee decided to remain behind but the other EXO members weren't going to take no for an answer. Suho led Christine up on stage, Chanyeol with me while Mike and Daniel didn't need any leading to because they followed us. As for Sam and Lee, the rest of EXO escorted them up on stage.

As much as I wasn't afraid of being on stage, today felt different. I couldn't tell why. Maybe it's because I was here only as a fan of EXO and not Zoey, a member of The Toxins. I bet the others also felt the same though they all looked really excited.

Sam got the mic from Suho and greeted all the fans, first in English then in Korean. That sent the fans in another exciting uproar. If it came to EXO, they all looked at Sam with surprising looks on their faces.

"Wow, is it me or did you really just speak in Korean?" Chanyeol asked, with an unbelievable look on his face.

"네 (Ne) (Yes)," Sam replied with a smile on her face. She looked adorable with that smile of hers.

We all had a formal chat with EXO on stage that the fans enjoyed it and couldn't help but scream in delight, especially since most EXO members were acting all clingy on Sam and randomly asking her questions. Even the personal ones. And since she doesn't have a boyfriend, I'll be expecting a long line of gifts from her would be suitors tomorrow.

The fun part of being on stage was singing out EXO's song. They had made a little game for us to see if we really knew most of their songs. Which we did. Since those me to go first, I refused to sing "Lotto."

"But why not?" Sehun asked as he laughed.

"My Korean is horrible," I said as I shook my head. "I'm Zoey and I'm not going to embarrass myself. I know the song, but I would rather sing it with no one around."

"But you were singing the song with us in the crowd," said Mike.

I threw Mike a look. "You're so annoying."

"Just sing the song, Zoey," said Christine. "Just sing the part you know really well."

"No way."

"Zoey, please," Sam pleased, giving me the puppy dog look.

Everyone else on stage started to plead along with her. Including the fans. Arrrgh! I always hated it when the fans urged me to do something I didn't want to do.

I finally gave in and sang. It wasn't the best of singing since I could sing out a few Korean words right, but anyway, I ended up laughing at myself in the end and so did everyone else. It didn't feel embarrassing. It was actually hilarious.

The rest of us Toxins soon started to sing out other EXO songs they admitted they didn't know the words to and I had to admit, it was so funny. There was so much drama and laughter on stage, even coming from the fans.

Sam and Lee were the only ones who really aced it when it came to singing. Since Lee already knew Korean, it was already out of the question. It was surprising that she could sing quite well and a lot of us were really impressed.

After the little game, EXO decided to go back to singing with the remaining time and us Toxins and Lee went back to our seats. Now that the fans knew where we were, some came over to take pics with us. It was so much fun and we even got to interact with them.

When the concert was finally over, some of us couldn't help but groan. I personally, didn't want the fun to stop but anyway, it was fun while it lasted. I'll never forget this experience of waving the EXO lightsticks while I sang along with the rest of the EXO-Ls. While we headed back stage with the security guards, I couldn't help but feel a certain detachment from the fans.

I was going to miss this, no doubt about it. It felt so good to support EXO with the EXO-Ls that I felt I was one myself.

I smiled. Maybe I am.


	15. Chapter 14: The Second Teaser.... And Monsta X

Sam's P.O.V:

I mourned in frustration when Zoey started singing in the hall again. She had been singing "Lotto" the whole morning. As if singing it at the concert last night wasn't enough. She kept on singing the chorus and she sang it wrongly as usual, getting a few Korean words right. It's not that I hate the song. It's one of my personal EXO favourites. It's just that the more she sang the louder she became.

And I mean obnoxiously loud.

"I'm not going to enjoy my breakfast today," said Mike who sat next to me at the dinning table as Zoey walked in, hitting a high note.

"Me too," said Daniel who sat across from me and had his elbow on the table and his cheek on his hand. He looked miserable.

Zoey came over to sit next to Christine who looked rather irritated.

"Can you please stop singing!" Christine fully blurted out in Zoey's face.

For a moment, the whole place was quiet. What a way to silence the boom box. I was stunned and so were my brothers. Zoey on the other hand, looked embarrassed.

"Wow! What just happened?" Mike asked.

"I silenced her, that's what happened," Christine replied as she went back to eating her breakfast like nothing had happened.

"You should be doing that more often," said Daniel.

"Excuse me?" Zoey asked. Looks like despite the shock, she was trying to put herself back together.

"She should be shutting you up more often," said Mike as he smiled. "That's what he meant."

"After all, Christine's done a pretty good job doing so," said Daniel.

My two brothers laughed and gave each other a look. I shook my head and smiled. I almost laughed too.

"You see, Sam," said Zoey. "I didn't want to argue today and your brothers are already putting me on edge."

"Just ignore them," I said. "Oh and Christine, that was a little harsh, don't you think?"

Christine gave a shrug. "Zoey was making too much noise."

"I know. That's why I'm saying thanks."

Zoey gasped in horror as she held her chest. "I don't know who you're anymore."

I gave Zoey a shrug as I put a strawberry in my mouth. My breakfast couldn't be any sweeter.

It just got more sweet when Lee came in the lounge with a huge bouquet of beautiful flowers.

"Ah, flowers," said Zoey. "Who are they for, Lee?"

"Obviously to all the girls in this room," Lee answers as she put the bouquet on the table. "From EXO."

Christine clapped her hands with glee. "So sweet of them."

"Too bad they never got anything for us," said Mike as he rolled his eyes and drank his juice.

"Well, they invited you two boys for a boys' night out tomorrow," said Lee as she held up two tickets and waved them like a fan. "You going for a baseball game."

Mike spat out the juice in his mouth and the droplets almost splattered all over Christine and Zoey's faces. They squealed in disgust as they closed their eyes.

"For real!" he finally stood up with an unbelievable look on his face.

"I'm waving the tickets in front of you," said Lee. "Of course, for real."

"So cool!" Daniel also jumped up from his seat.

"But why didn't they invite us?" Zoey asked looking hurt.

"It's a boys' night out as earlier said," said Mike. "No girls allowed."

"But I'm also a fan of baseball." Zoey sulked.

"No, you're not," the rest of us said at the same time.

"Fine." Zoey folded her arms looking red faced.

"It won't be wrong for the boys to have some quality time with them," I said. "It's a good thing if you ask me."

"At least I won't have to see them for a while," said Zoey, looking at my two brothers.

"Mmmm, imagine what I'll tell EXO about you," said Mike with a little smirk on his face. "And all your embarrassing moments."

Zoey grew wide eyed and threatened. "Don't you even dare."

"We will see about that."

"Are you guys ready? We need to go to YG," said Lee.

"Yes," the four Toxins said at the same time except Zoey.

"I haven't even eaten yet," Zoey complained.

"If you weren't singing that song in the bathroom for thirty minutes, you would have eaten already," I said as I got up from my chair.

"Fine, I get it," said Zoey as she got a slice of toast and stood up. "Lets go."

"I'll get you a cappuccino on the way," said Lee.

"You're an angel," said Zoey giving Lee a hug.

We all headed out of the lounge, into the elevator and out of the hotel on our way to YG. But first, we made a stop at the café (not the one Zoey met with Jehan last time) to get a cappuccino for Zoey.

"I change my mind," said Mike before Lee got out of the car. "I also want a cappuccino."

"What?" Lee looked at him with a confused look on her face.

"I want one, too," said Daniel.

"Me three," said Christine.

"Me four," I joined.

"No, wait a minute," said Zoey as she stood upright on her seat with a hand raised. "I wanted a cappuccino. You all can't get one. I didn't have my breakfast."

"But we all want a cappuccino," said Daniel as he pouted his lip.

"You guys are so unfair."

"I'll go with Lee to help her out," I volunteered.

Lee and I got out of the car, leaving the others in a fit of a conversation.

"You guys are so impossible today," said Lee as we made our way to the café. "What's up?"

"Who? Us?" I asked as Lee opened the glass door to the café and the tiny bell rang. The strong smell of coffee filled my nostrils. I couldn't help but sigh with delight.

"Who do you think I'm talking about? Of course, I mean all of you. You look all jumpy as though you all took some kind of energy drink or something. You should have been tired from all the practice and the fun at the concert yesterday, but you aren't."

"I didn't notice," I said with a smile as Lee and I joined a small queue by the counter.

"Zoey on one hand, couldn't stop singing Lotto, Christine told her to shut up."

I raised eyebrow. "You heard that?"

Lee turned to look at me. "I don't miss out on such things. And you and your two brothers have been on Zoey like wolves. I wonder what's up with all of you. It's like you want to take over the whole world or something."

"Nah, I think that's how we are."

"Times two," said Lee as she lifted her index and middle finger.

The line in front of us moved up pretty quickly and soon, Lee was ordering our cappuccinos. I stood beside her while I waited.

I hadn't noticed this before, but the café had been playing music for a while and it was until I heard a familiar song being played that it caught my attention.

I gave out a little squeal of delight that didn't capture much of people's attention in the whole café, but Lee turned to look at me.

"Now what's wrong with you?" she asked.

"Can't you hear the song that's playing right now?" I asked with excitement as I moved from side to side to the tune and snapping my fingers.

"Let me guess, Monsta X. Hero, right?"

"Yep," I said with a smile as I stopped dancing. Didn't want to attract too much attention.

"You see. Now you're acting weird. It feels like you're jolly for some reason."

"It's Monsta X, Lee."

"Even if it was BTS you would have controlled yourself. Something is a little off with you and with the others too. Did a full moon come by and changed you all over night?"

"If you're thinking we are werewolves of some sort, it's so not funny." I gave her a grim look.

"You're right. Maybe you all just woke up on the right side of the bed this morning."

"I don't know. I just feel something good is going to happen today. You know that feeling when you're all happy and you don't know where it all came from?"

"I get that once in a while. But it's strange that you five all have it. Anyway, let's go."

Lee paid for the cappuccinos in front of her and she carried three cups on a cup holder tray and I carried the other three as well.

As we were heading out of the café, I kept on singing Hero in a low tone, snapping my fingers with my other free hand and with a smile on my face. I had to admit, I was really enjoying myself.

Just as Lee reached the door of the café and went out first, someone was just coming in while I wanted to go out. The person looked preoccupied and was looking at his phone the whole time. I for one didn't mind at all.

We both passed through the doorframe, which apparently was wide enough for two people to pass through, but at the same time, my shoulder slightly brushed the person's shoulder.

It happened so fast that when I found myself outside the café, I stopped. Something funny happened when I brushed shoulders with that person and I couldn't tell what it was.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lee asked as she reached the car and saw me standing there like a statue.

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out of my mouth. I looked back at the café and I could see through the glass door the person I had bumped into had also stopped in his tracks just in front of the door as he was inside. Could it be that he felt it too?

I wanted him to turn around so that I could see his face, but Lee snapped me back to reality.

"Come on, Sam! We're going to be late," she called out to me.

I quickly ran over to the car and got in why Lee got into the passenger's seat.

"What was that all about?" Zoey asked as soon as I settled in the car.

"Nothing, I just remembered something," I replied as I looked out the window towards the café.

Christine and Zoey got their cappuccinos from Lee while my brothers got them from me.

"Mmmm, this is so good," said Christine as she drank some.

"This so much reminds me of home," said Mike at the back.

The chauffeur soon started the car's engine. I still had my eyes towards the café and I noticed that the guy I bumped into had joined the small queue at the counter. And he was looking out the café window at the car. He was looking directly at me and me at him.

My face flushed and so did his when we both recognised each other.

Before I could utter a word, the car already started to make its way down the road and away from the café.

"Sam, are you alright?" Lee asked.

I hadn't noticed till then that all eyes were on me. I felt so lost and confused. Not after seeing who I bumped into at the café.

"I...um," I stammered for a bit until I pulled myself together. "I'm fine."

"You haven't complimented on the cappuccino and you've been sitting like a statue looking out the window," said Daniel.

"And you're blushing," said Zoey. "Tell me, did you see a cute guy in the café?"

"Zoey," the rest in the car muttered apart from me.

"What? I was only asking."

"Yes, I did," I answered.

That made everyone grow quiet and have their eyes on me again. Zoey and Christine soon squealed in delight. Lee and my two brothers looked otherwise confused.

"What did he look like?" Christine asked excitedly.

"Yes, tell us! Give me details," said Zoey and she soon drank from her cup.

"I don't even know where to start," I said as I tried to drink my cappuccino.

"Awww, looks like she likes him," said Lee with a smile.

"Of course she does," said Zoey as she now held my shoulder. I looked at her. "Now tell me. Does he have brown or black hair or is his hair dyed in some crazy colour?"

"Why do you want to know about his hair colour?" Daniel asked.

Zoey shrugged. "I just want to know. Not about his hair colour but everything."

"Everything, everything," muttered Mike as he took a sip of his cappuccino.

"It doesn't matter because you'll be surprised when I tell you who he is," I said.

Again, all eyes on me. Looks like I caught their attention.

"We know who he is?" Christine asked looking surprised.

"Yep."

"Why aren't you telling us anything?" Zoey insisted. "Now I really want to know."

"Okay, okay. You might as well eat me alive, so I'll tell you."

I paused for a moment before I could open my mouth and say anything. I even took in a sip of my cappuccino.

"Mmmm, this is so good," I muttered.

"Sam!" they all exclaimed at the same time.

"What?" For a moment there, I was startled.

"Tell us who you saw at the café?" Lee asked.

"You know what, Lee, I'm even surprised you didn't see who the person was yourself because just as you came out of the café, he was coming in."

"I didn't notice. For the record, he was looking at his phone the entire time."

"Aren't you going to tell us who it is or not?" Daniel asked sounding anxious.

Just before I could say anything more, my phone in my purse beeped. And so did everybody else's. That was weird. Anyway, it's not the first time this is happening.

I took my phone out. I had a message from Seunghoon.

"The second teaser is out," I announced.

"I got the same message from Lisa," said Mike.

"I got it from Jinwoo," said Christine with a smile on her face.

"Mine from Mino," said Zoey with a grin.

"Got it from Rosé," said Daniel.

"Collins," said Lee.

"Weird," I said.

"Let's check it out first before Sam could continue with our mystery man," said Zoey swiping away on her phone obviously looking for her YouTube app.

"No can do guys," said Lee. "We're already here at YG."

"What!?" The five of us muttered at the same time and we all looked out the car windows. We were definitely at YG alright. How did we get here so fast and how hadn't we realised it sooner?

"Dang it," muttered Mike.

"Come on," said Lee as she opened the door on her side. "You're supposed to be at the studio hall in two minutes."

"Ha, I don't want to be on bad terms with Miss Sharky," said Zoey. "We better get moving."

"Miss Sharky?" Christine and Daniel asked looking confused.

"Let me guess," I rolled my eyes. "Our dance instructor for the event, Ji Yeon."

"Da," Zoey replied. "Let's go. We might be remaining with one minute."

I opened the car door and dashed out first. I ran round the YG main building, towards the huge studio hall. I could hear the others running right behind me. As soon as I passed through the open doors of the hall, I stopped when I found BlackPink and WINNER inside and no sign of the organisers.

"Hey, Sam," greeted Jisoo. "Where are the....?"

Before she could finish her sentence, Zoey and the others all ran in and stopped behind me. Just like me, they were also panting for air.

"Are you guys okay?" Jennie asked as she came towards us.

"We're fine, just trying to catch our breath," said Daniel.

"Hey, did you receive my message?" Seunghoon asked as he stood in front for me.

"I did," I said after I was relaxed and drank my cappuccino. Surprisingly, I still had it and I hadn't spelt a drop while I ran here.

"Did you see the video?" Mino asked.

"We are just about to do so right now," said Zoey as she gathered her composure and took her phone out of her pocket with excitement.

"Ah! The rest are all here," came a woman' s voice behind me. I noticed the annoyed look on Zoey's face when she heard her voice.

Ji Yeon came in with Ji Nun and BigBang.

The Toxins, WINNER and BlackPink bowed upon seeing the the two dance instructors. A few of us waved at the BigBang members.

"Okay, let's pick up from where we left off," said Ji Nun.

We followed the two dance instructors further into the studio. We stood apart from where the construction set was still being worked on.

"This is so unfair," Zoey whispered to me before we could organise ourselves. "Why does Miss Sharky have to ruin everything?"

"Who's Miss Sharky?" TOP whispered as he came from behind and almost stood in between Zoey and I.

"You already know given that look on your face," I said lowering my voice.

"What are you so upset about?" TOP asked Zoey.

"I didn't watch the teaser," Zoey answered.

"'We' didn't watch the teaser," I rephrased.

"Oh, I see," said TOP. "And Miss Sharky ruined everything."

"You got that right," said Zoey.

"Stop calling her Miss Sharky," I insisted.

TOP and Zoey smiled and we soon paid attention to the dance instructors in front of us giving out their instructions on how each group were to go through with their dance routine.

As much as we complained over the change of routine yesterday due to Ji Yeon's demands, today was a whole lot easier to go about it. I grew surprised when Zoey didn't complain much when Ji Yeon was taking us The Toxins through the routine she planned out for us. We were actually enjoying ourselves.

"Good," said Ji Yeon after she watched us go through the routine she had showed us to do for the third time. "You're getting better and better the more you practise. Let me go and check up on WINNER."

Ji Yeon left to check on WINNER who were with Ji Nun a few feet away from us. The two instructors decided to share between them the four groups. The Toxins and BlackPink with Ji Yeon and the other two with Ji Nun.

"Wow, you guys are really having fun today," said Lisa, who stood with the rest of BlackPink nearby, watching us practise.

"You think so?" Christine as she took her hair to the side and wiped the sweat on her forehead with a towel.

"Ji Yeon said so just now, didn't she?" Rosé asked.

"Yep," said Zoey. "Now that Miss Sharky isn't here, now is the right time to check up on the teaser."

"Wait, you haven't seen it yet?" Jennie asked who was squatting on the floor.

"Nope," Daniel shook his head.

Zoey went over to get her phone from my purse that was with Lisa. Just as she was about to remove her phone from my purse, Ji Yeon came back.

"Okay, Toxins," said Ji Yeon. "Let's get back to work. We still have to finish the routine."

"Awwh, seriously? Now?" Zoey looked at Ji Yeon.

"Do you have a problem?" Ji Yeon had a stern look on her face that she even folded her arms.

"No," Zoey replied dully.

"Okay. Back to your positions."

I could see Zoey sulk and when she went back to her position behind Ji Yeon, she gave her a funny look. BlackPink and the rest of us Toxins noticed it that we almost burst out laughing but we controlled ourselves. We were dealing with Ji Yeon after all.

After Ji Yeon was done with us, BlackPink were up next. We still had an hour before lunchtime. While we The Toxins sat down to rest and watch BlackPink practice, Zoey decided it was the right time to watch the teaser.

"Are you really sure you want to do that with Miss Sharky in front of us?" I asked.

Zoey held up her phone in her hand. "Yes," she replied.

"I don't know if she'll like it."

"Don't mind her," Zoey whispered as she unlocked her phone. "Let's just watch the teaser."

The five of us were seated on the floor and huddled closer together with Zoey in the middle. We were all looking at her phone as she tapped on the YouTube app. She was connected to wi-fi and as soon as she was on the home page, the page started to load and the first video on the list was the second teaser.

Just as Zoey's finger was about to tap on the video to watch we heard a "ahem" in front of us.

We looked upwards and there was Ji Yeon looking down at us with a serious look on her face. We continued to look at her without a word.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Ummm," I muttered. I didn't know what to say. Most of us were scratching our heads thinking of what to say to her.

"We just wanted to check on something," Zoey answered.

"While you're busy?" Ji Yeon had her eyebrow raised.

"We thought of doing something since we don't seem busy at the moment," Mike answered.

Ji Yeon didn't say anything for a little while as she continued to stare down at us.

"You can always checkup on whatever it is when it's lunch time," she said with her hands on her hips. You had to admit, she really had a nice slim figure of a body. "Right now, it's practise session so no funny business during this time. Is that clear?"

The five of us all nodded our heads. I noticed BlackPink had stopped practising to watch the scenario in front of them.

"So, put that phone away and with the remaining time, go through the routine we just did." She turned around and looked at BlackPink. "And what are you all looking at? I'm not done with you yet, so keep practising."

Blackpink did as they were told and we stood up to do the same until lunchtime. By then, we were all exhausted especially us Toxins since we were told to go for another round or two when we were supposed to be resting.

"Hey, are you okay?" Daesung looked down on me as I laid on the floor. I felt so exhausted.

"I'm fine, just tired," I answered as I closed my eyes.

"Get up, you've to have your lunch," he insisted as I felt him take hold of my hand to pull me up. I soon complied and got up from the floor.

"I don't think I want to get up," said Jisoo also laying on the floor with her eyes closed.

"Me neither," said Christine who lay next to Jisoo.

"And let's not forget about the teaser," I announced as I stretched myself.

Zoey who was lying on the floor quickly rolled over and stood up quickly.

"Oh, goodness, I totally forgot," she said looking horrified as if she just woke up from a terrible nightmare.

"Wait, you seriously haven't seen the teaser?" Seungyoon asked.

"Trust me, we haven't," said Mike as he sat up from the floor.

"Well, that's scary," said Seungri. "Where have you guys been this whole time?"

"Here! Where else?" Zoey asked as she shrugged her shoulders. "Where did I put my phone?" She started to look around the floor for her purse.

"So you five all haven't seen the teaser?" Jinwoo asked.

"Yep," said Christine as she now sat upright on the floor. "And we couldn't watch the video since....."

"....Miss Sharky..." Zoey added as she looked at Christine.

"....Miss Sharky," Christine rolled her eyes, "prevented us from watching the video while we took a break."

"That's harsh," said Mino.

"Tell me about it," said Zoey.

"Let's watch the video now while we wait for the others to get back with the pizza and 'Miss Sharky' isn't here," said Daniel.

"Good idea," said Mike.

"Guys, where's my phone?" Zoey asked looking like a crazy person.

"Let's use mine," I suggested as I pulled out my phone from my pocket.

"Great idea," said Zoey as she came over to stand next to me pushing Daesung out of the way by accident.

"Hey?" Daesung looked stunned.

"Don't mind," said Christine as she also stood up and came over to stand on my other side. "I apologise on her behalf."

Mike mumbled as he also came to join the Toxins circle. Daniel came over and made the circle complete.

My phone was connected to wi-fi and immediately it made the connection, I started to receive so many notifications from so many social media accounts. Including Twitter.

"Wow, so many notifications," said Daniel.

"Too many followers everyday," I said. "And people still can't stop talking about us attending EXO's concert yesterday."

"Ya, it was fun," said Mike.

A notification on YouTube soon appeared. The second teaser. I felt the Toxins around me hold their breaths.

"Quickly, press it," Zoey insisted with so much glee. I rolled my eyes.

Just as I was about to, another notification appeared pushing the YouTube notification downwards. I got irritated. I hated when such things happen.

I looked at the notification that just appeared. I got a new follower on Twitter. I paused. Oh, my.....

The Toxins around me gasped. They saw it too.

"Are you guys okay?" Mino asked. "You all look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"It's a ghost alright," said Zoey still looking at my phone.

"Follow him back, Sam," said Christine.

"What? I thought we wanted to watch the video," I looked at Christine with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, you can quickly follow, then watch the video," said Mike.

"May we all know who you're talking about?" Jennie asked.

The five of us Toxins looked up and saw everyone else looking at us with questioning looks. G-Dragon, TOP and Seunghoon soon appeared with lunch.

"Oh, lunch is here," I announced.

"Really?" Lisa and Rosé quickly got up from the floor and ran over to those who came in with the food. Everyone else turned their attention to the food, leaving us Toxins alone.

"What a nice way to keep them distracted," said Mike.

"I know," I said. "Let's get back to what we were doing."

We all went back to looking at my phone. And since the others had insisted I follow the person back on Twitter, I did. Just as I was about to leave the Twitter app, I received a message from the follower. When I read the message, I was stunned.

"Hi. Can we meet at the café I saw you at this morning?"

Christine and Zoey almost screamed but their hands flew to their mouths in an instant. They did a good job so as not to attract attention. I couldn't help but blush when I saw the message. My brothers had their mouths wide open.

"Are you kidding me?" Mike couldn't belive it. "He was the one you saw at the café?"

"Uh....ya," I stuttered. "He is."

Zoey couldn't help but jump a little with excitement. It could show all over her face that she wanted so much as to scream.

"Say yes, Sam," she insisted as she held my arm. "And ask if we can come along too."

"I don't think he will mind," said Daniel as he shrugged.

"Well, let's see what he will say," I said as I went on to replying the message.

"Sure. We can meet in the evening at 5. Should I bring the Toxins along?"

I tapped the send button and we all waited eagerly for the reply.

"Hey?"

The five of us almost jumped up in fright by the sound of G-Dragon's voice. He stood right in front of us with his arms folded and looking at us with an eyebrow raised.

"Hey to you too," said Zoey.

"Everyone is having lunch," said G-Dragon. "You all seem occupied."

"Don't mind us," said Mike. "We will join you."

"There will be no pizza left if you aren't coming," Seunghoon announced.

The five of us growled in frustration. Seunghoon was probably right. We should eat first or else we might not eat at all. The others were as hungry as wolves. And so were we.

"Fine," I muttered. "Come on, guys, let's go."

We soon joined the others and had our lunch. When we were done, I checked my phone for any messages on Twitter. There was the message from the person who had followed me earlier. And it read:

"Great. I would equally love to meet all five of you. See you later then."

I replied:

"Ya. See you later."

I smiled when I hit the send button. As soon as I turned around, I found myself bumping into Seunghoon. I almost spilt my can of coke all over his shirt.

"Wow, Seunghoon, where did you come from?" I asked as I took a step back.

"I should be asking what you're smiling about," he said giving me a corky smile.

"Nothing," I replied quickly as I felt my cheeks start to heat up.

All of the sudden, I felt someone lean onto me from behind and giving me a tight hug. For a moment I thought it might be Seungri until....

"Has he replied yet?" Zoey asked in my ear.

"Uh...yes," I answered. "Can you stop hugging me now?"

She quickly turned me around instead so that I could look at her. Again, I was a little surprised that my coke hadn't spelt all over the place

"What did he say?"

"That he can't wait to meet us all," I answered.

Zoey jumped and squeaked with glee.

"Wait, who are you talking about?"Seunghoon asked.

"Nobody," Zoey answered giving him a smile.

"You guys are really acting weird," said Taeyang. "I was just from talking to Mike and Daniel about what was going on with you all but they never said anything."

Mike and Daniel who stood next to Taeyang, both did the expression of zipping their mouths shut.

"Ya," said Rosé as she folded her arms and looked at Zoey and I. "Mind telling us what the excitement is all about?"

"Nothing," Zoey and I replied at the same time.

Mino rolled his eyes at us. "Are you talking to any EXO member? Because you all had quite a blast yesterday at the concert."

"Don't remind me," Seunghoon and G-Dragon muttered at the same time.

I smiled at the annoyed looks on their faces. Zoey couldn't help but giggle.

"No, it's not any EXO member," Christine replied to Mino's question.

"Then what's going on then?" Lisa asked.

"Nothing," the five of us Toxins replied.

"This is going nowhere," said Jennie, shaking her head.

"That reminds me," said TOP. "Have you all seen the teaser, yet?"

Zoey hissed. Christine clicked her tongue. Mike rolled his eyes. Daniel shook his head and I started tapping my foot.

The rest all looked at us and didn't say a word. Looked like they enjoyed intimidating us.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Jisoo asked as she folded her arms.

"No, we aren't," said Christine.

"We're going to act like civilised people and walk away," said Zoey.

"Ya, we will do just that, right now," I said.

"We'll be right with you," said Daniel.

I walked round Seunghoon and Zoey followed. The next thing we knew, we Toxins broke away from the others. I bet the rest were confused with our behaviour today. After TOP had asked the question about the teaser, we would have gone into an outburst, complaining how he's rubbing salt in the wound.

But we didn't.

And now we were all huddled up together, on YouTube watching the one minute teaser on my phone without any disturbance.

"Okay, this teaser is just awesome," said Daniel. "I can't wait for the actual music video."

"It's only a few days to go," I said.

"That day is going to be exciting," said Zoey.

"May I say, you guys are really acting funny today," said Taeyang as he came to join us.

"Ya, Lee said the same thing about us this morning," I said.

"She did?" Christine asked.

"At the café."

"So, are we going to tell us what's going on and why you're all so excited?" Lisa asked as she came to stand beside Taeyang.

"We look excited?" Daniel asked with an eyebrow raised. "I thought we looked tired?"

"With all the training and the concert you had yesterday, I'm surprised you're all energetic," Lisa answered. "Because even with practise today, you all had some new kind of energy that you danced so well."

"Oh, thank you," said Zoey with a smile as she flipped her hair to the side. "I know, we are awesome."

"I noticed that too," said Taeyang. "And Ji Yeon looked really impressed."

"Despite that frown she puts on her face, I highly doubt it. She just did that just to make us feel good."

Mino who passed us by looking at his phone shook his head, obviously over Zoey's comment. I smiled and Zoey silently hissed at him.

After our lunch break, we went straight to practise till four in the afternoon. We Toxins couldn't help our excitement after we were done refreshing ourselves up in the showers. I had texted Lee earlier to get the car ready and that we will be heading back to the café. She had a weird look on her face as she waited for us in the lobby.

"May I ask why we're heading to the café, again?" Lee asked as we walked out of the building and she followed behind us.

"We love their cappuccinos," Zoey answered as she reached the car first.

"Really? I doubt that," Lee shook her head. "What's really going on?"

I smiled at Lee as the four Toxins made their way in the car. "You'll see."

"Wait, it has something do with the person you met at the café, right?"

"Yep."

I left Lee with a blank look on her face as I went in the car. She soon got herself together and went in the front passenger's seat.

The driver started the car and we were out of the YG premises in seconds.

"May I know who the person is and how you managed to get into contact with him?" Lee asked.

"With so many social media platforms, you shouldn't be asking that question," said Zoey with a smile on her face as she looked at herself through the rear view mirror.

"Let me guess, Twitter," said Lee. I noticed her roll her eyes as through the rear view mirror. "Can you tell me who it is?"

"I don't think so," said Christine as she looked at her phone.

"Really? If I wanted I wouldn't have even agreed to take you to the café. So at least do me the favour of telling me."

"Ya, Lee's right," said Mike. "But it would be so much better if she takes it as a surprise."

Lee turned to look at us with a confused look on her face while the rest of us agreed with Mike.

"What?" Lee looked ready to oppose.

"Now you're talking, Mike," said Zoey.

"You guys are acting like total jerks."

"We know," Christine and I said at the same time.

"Why can't you just tell me?" Lee insisted as she turned on her seat to look at us.

"It doesn't matter because we are already here," said Daniel.

Lee looked out the window and so did the rest of us. The café appeared a few feet away and in a matter of seconds, the chauffeur parked right in front of it.

Zoey clapped her hands with glee. "I can't believe we are finally here."

"Now, you all better chill," I said. "We should all act normal. This is a café, not a club."

Christine and Zoey shook their heads and said at the same time, "got it."

"We're meeting celebrities, aren't we?" Lee asked.

The five of us turned to look at her.

"How did you know it's celebrities and not a celebrity?" Mike asked.

"Given with what's going on nowadays, I had to think and come up with a conclusion it's some k-pop group. Again," said Lee with a smile. "Now, tell me who are they?"

"Let's go," I said as I pulled at the door handle and I quickly stepped out. Surprisingly, Lee stepped out quickly too.

"Looks like someone is as eager as I am to finally meet this stranger in person," I said as I smiled at Lee.

"Huh? Are we talking about one person or more than?" Lee asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Does that even matter?" Zoey asked as soon as she came out of the car and Christine followed.

"You're confusing me, that's the problem," said Lee, almost pouting her lower lip.

"I don't know about you ladies," said Mike as his feet touched the pavement. "But I'm going in."

Mike started his way to the café with Daniel. The rest of us soon followed the two.

Going in the café was almost a hustle, especially when the six of us all wanted to walk in through the door all at the same time, which was very silly of us to do because some of us almost got stuck on our way in until we let the others walk in first.

"Okay, this is ridiculous," said Lee as she combed her hair back with her hand after we all got in the café. "Let's not do that again."

"Noted," I said as I looked around.

"Tell me when you see him," said Zoey who stood next to me. "Or them."

"Can you please tell me who he is or who they are?" Lee asked. "I'm dying of curiosity."

I didn't answer her as I continued to look around the café. The place had a reasonable number of people, mostly couples but a lot more tables were empty. I started to wonder where he could be.

I turned my eyes to the corner and I saw him all dressed in black like he was this morning and was staring at his phone. I smiled. Looked like he really liked going through his phone. I couldn't blame if he all he had to do was sit in this café and wait.

As though he knew I was staring at him, he looked up from his phone and his eyes landed on me. He and I both smiled at each other at the same time. Okay....that felt weird.

He stood up from his seat and I walked straight up to him. I could hear the others grow quiet behind me obviously holding their breaths as they saw who I was approaching.

"Nice to finally meet you in person, Shownu," I said he and we were just a few feet apart from each other.

Shownu gave me the brightest smile ever and said, "the pleasure is mine."

Zoey and Christine gave out an ear splitting scream. Shownu and I turned to look at them. The two actually had the whole café staring at them now.

"SHOWNU!" the two girls exclaimed as they ran for him. I quickly moved out of the way and Shownu got caught in their embrace.

"Wow," Shownu looked surprised and smiled when he realised Zoey and Christine weren't going to let him go that easily. Lee and my two brothers came to join us.

"Can you please stop hugging him now?" Mike asked. "You're going to suffocate him."

"No, we don't want to," said Christine with her arms still wrapped around Shownu and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Just a few seconds," said Zoey on Shownu's other side.

"Wait," I looked at the table Shownu had been sitting at and the other surrounding tables. "Where are.....?"

Before I could finish asking my question to Shownu, I felt Daniel who stood beside me tap my shoulder. I turned to look at him. He was already facing the other way towards the counter. I also turned to see what he was looking at.

In front of us stood the remaining six members of Monsta X. They all looked stunned each holding a cup of cappuccinos in their hand. Some of them had their mouth wide open.

"Oh my gosh, it's them," said Lee after she saw them.

Mike also turned around and his mouth dropped wide open.

"Oh, my gosh, it's really you guys," said IM, Monsta X's maknae (막내). He put his cup aside on a table and ran to hug me. I couldn't help but blush.

I heard Zoey give a little scream and I saw her run past me and towards the rest of Monsta X hugging Jooheon first and went on to hug everyone else.

"Okay, now I see why Shownu said he had a surprise for us," said Jooheon as he approached us. IM soon stopped hugging me.

"We were coming to meet you guys all along," said IM. "This is so cool." For moment he sounded like a little kid.

"Sam also didn't tell me who we were meeting at the café," said Lee. "This is also a surprise to me too. The other already knew what was going on."

"I can't believe these guys are all standing in front of me," said Zoey who had finished hugging every Monsta X member and was now standing in between Minhyuk and Wonho with her arms wrapped around their shoulders.

Hyungwon came straight up to hug me. That felt so unexpected but I smiled anyway.

"I can't believe I'm meeting you in person," said Hyungwon after hugging me. "I'm such a fan."

"You're his bias, actually," said Kihyun.

I blushed. "For real?" I asked.

"And mine too," said I.M.

"When he is actually my bias," said Christine with a smile on her face staring at Hyungwon. I was surprised that she didn't seem so upset.

"You shouldn't have said anything," said Hyungwon, as he turned to look at Kihyun.

"Don't worry," said Mike. "Almost every guy I know who likes The Toxins, always says Sam is their bias."

"Zoey is my bias," said Jooheon with his arms folded and a cool smile on his face.

"Awww," Zoey blushed and smiled at Jooheon.

"Are we going to keep talking about whose bias is whose or are we going to do something else?" Lee asked.

"Like getting to know each other?" Wonho asked. "Totally."

"Then let's all sit down and have a chat," said Shownu.

"Great idea," I said.

We all settled around the table that Shownu had settled on earlier. It was big enough to cater for everyone since some of us got chairs from other tables. Shownu and I went out to get cappuccinos for the rest.

"I have to admit," said Shownu as he looked at me as we stood by the counter. "This is great."

I know what he meant and I turned around to look at the table where Monsta X, The Toxins and Lee were all seated. Zoey and Mike had already brewed up a fun story and everyone else was having a blast.

"Tell me about it," I said with a smile. "You know, I had a feeling something nice was going to happen today."

"Oh, really?" Shownu had his eyebrow raised.

"Ya. When we came here to the café this morning your song was playing."

"What song?"

"Hero."

The cappuccinos we ordered were now on the counter. I got the one set of cappuccinos while I waited for Shownu to get the other.

"Are you serious?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you really think I am lying?"

Shownu chuckled. Cute. He got the other set of cappuccinos and we made our way back to the table.

"I believe you," he said.

I smiled. When we got to the table, everyone was laughing. I wondered what they could be taking about now.

"What have we missed?" I asked as I took my seat in between Daniel and Hyungwon.

"Oh, nothing," said Minhyuk, who sat next to Zoey. "Zoey just said something funny."

"He just called me fun," said Zoey with a grin.

"When you're actually annoying," said Mike who sat next to his brother.

Zoey growled at Mike and he stuck out his tongue at her. Lee clapped her hands to grab their attention.

"We're not going to have any of your little fights right now," said Lee. "So behave."

"Do they fight this much?" Jooheon asked.

"You've no idea," said Christine.

Shownu and I gave out the cappuccinos to the other Toxins and Lee.

"Mmmmm, this is just delicious," said Daniel as he took a sip of his cappuccino.

"Tell me about it," said Kihyun. "We love coming here because this café is just the best. Even their coffee is awesome."

"I've no doubt about that," I said.

"I was thinking," started Shownu who sat opposite from me on the table, "that after this we go do something fun."

Zoey clapped her hands. "I'm loving this idea already," she said.

"Are you up for it?" Shownu asked. The question was directed to us Toxins but he was looking at me as he asked.

"I'm up for it," said Daniel.

"Me too," said Mike.

"You already know I'm in," said Christine.

I know I was supposed to say something after this, but I was quiet. Like really quiet. Somehow, I felt completely lost for words.

"Aren't you going to say anything, Sam?" IM asked. For a moment there, he looked really concerned.

"Oh, ya, right," I said trying to gather myself together. "I'm in."

"Let's just hope you don't get into any trouble," said Lee. "Collins will kill me."

"Don't worry," said Shownu giving Lee an assuring smile. "We won't."

"So what are we up to?" Kihyun asked.

Shownu had a smirk on his face. "You will see. The Toxins are going to love it." He continued to look at me.

"Now I'm pretty hyped up," said Jooheon. "This should be fun."

"Totally," said Hyungwon.

Everyone else grew excited, including Lee. I for one couldn't help but feel Shownu had something up his sleeve, and that it had something to do with the song.

I for one couldn't help but feel Shownu had something up his sleeve, and that it had something to do with the song.


	16. Chapter 15: The Hero Challenge

"Are you kidding me?" I asked as I looked around.

Shownu pulled me by the hand and I got onto the platform. The sun had now set and I was looking up at the dark night sky.

"Is there a problem?" Shownu asked as he looked at me.

I folded my arms. "You know, I knew you were likely to bring us here."

Shownu raised the corner of his mouth into a smile. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"Because, the others were so excited that I didn't want to say no. Besides, this isn't so bad. I just wonder what the others would think when they come up here."

As soon as I had said those words, the door behind us flew open. Zoey and Jooheon came up to us.

"May I ask what we are doing here?" Zoey asked as she looked at Shownu.

"Does this remind of you anything, Zoey?" I asked.

Zoey looked around the rooftop and then on the round helipad platform Shownu and I were on. She scratched her head as she went back to looking around again.

"I have no clue," she said as she scratched her head. "Are we waiting for some helicopter to get us up here or something?"

Shownu laughed, so did Jooheon. I sighed instead.

"What?" Zoey shrugged her shoulders.

"Tell me, has Sam figured it out?" Jooheon asked Shownu.

"She's smart like everyone says she is, she knew about it way before we came here," Shownu answered as he looked at me.

"Nice." Jooheon quickly stepped up onto the platform. He jumped up right in front of me that I had to take a step back. "I like smart girls," he said as he looked at me with a corky smile.

"And I thought I was your bias," Zoey complained as she also got onto the platform.

"You always will," said Jooheon.

"Can someone please tell me what I'm missing here? It already seems I guessed the wrong answer."

The door leading to the rooftop soon opened again and the rest of Monsta X, The Toxins and Lee appeared.

"I just love the cool breeze," said Christine with her arms outstretched when a slight night breeze passed by. Her black curly hair flew in the wind.

"Can you tell me why we are here?" Wonho asked. "You know I don't like such places."

"Oh, you're scared of heights, aren't you?" I asked as I looked at Wonho as he approached with the others.

"Pretty much, yes," he answered as he gave me a nervous smile.

"I can't help but feel that this place reminds me of something," said Mike as he joined us on the platform.

"Ya, me too," said Daniel. "I wonder what it is."

"That's what I've been trying to figure out," said Zoey. "And sadly, these guys aren't saying anything."

"If you're a real Mon Bebe you will know why we are up here," I said as I folded my arms.

Christine snapped her fingers. "Hero, the song! They did their music video from a rooftop of a building."

Zoey slapped her forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"I actually had that figured out," said Lee as she looked around the rooftop. "Don't you think it's dangerous being up here?"

"For me, yes," said Wonho.

"Stop being such a baby," said IM. "If we can manage to shoot the video from the rooftop last time, we can do so again."

"Okay, now that we know what being here reminds us of, what are we actually doing here, really?" Christine asked.

I turned to look at Shownu and everyone else did the same.

"What are you all looking at me for?" Shownu asked as he shrugged.

"You're the one who brought us here," I said. "So you're the right person to answer the question."

"Okay. I brought us up here not just to remind us about the Hero music video," Shownu started. "But also to have a dance battle."

"A dance battle?" the rest of us said at the same time, not believing a word he said.

"Ya, a dance battle. Monsta X vs The Toxins," Shownu had a bright smile on his face.

I didn't seem surprised by all this but a dance battle was the last thing on my mind right now.

"But are we all up for it, is the main question at hand," said Hyungwon. "I know I'm up for it."

"Me too," said Mike as he rubbed his hands with delight. "This is going to be so much fun."

Zoey, Christine and Daniel happily agreed. Kihyun and Minhyuk were all geared up and excited. Jooheon who stood right beside me was all chilled with a cool smile on his face and nodding his head in agreement. As much as Wonho was scared of heights, he also agreed. Hopefully no one was going to put him at the edge of the rooftop tonight just to bully him a little.

"Hey," said IM as he got onto the helipad platform and stood in front of me. "You don't seem up for the challenge."

"Oh, she is," said Zoey as she held my shoulders from behind. "She's just trying to analyse the situation like she usually does."

"Well, I for one am not up for this dance battle," said Lee.

The happy chattering around us died down after Lee's statement. What a way to ruin the mood.

"But why? Is there something wrong?" Minhyuk asked.

"I know you're trying to relive the 'Hero' experience, but why have a dance battle when there is no audience to make the final judgement?"

Lee was right somehow. In every dance battle there had to be an audience. But nowadays, people would watch dance battles online and vote. Just like the way Zoey and I had done when we had our own dance battle. Which by the way, we hadn't even known who had won since Mike never closed the voting poll.

"But we can always shoot a video and post it online and see what people think," said Zoey, bringing out the thought I had in my head.

"I don't prefer online voting, you know," said Lee. "It's way better when there's a crowd. And it's simply more fun too."

"She's right," said Shownu as he dropped from the helipad platform. "With a crowd, it makes so much sense."

"But where are we going to gather a crowd of random people who would like to watch a dance battle at this time?" Kihyun asked.

"It's already been taken care of," said Shownu as he pulled out his phone. "They will be here any moment now."

"You had everything planned out, didn't you?" I asked with an eyebrow raised. "From the time we met at the café this morning."

Shownu looked at me and smiled. "Glad you figured that out."

"Wait, so, who are coming?" Minhyuk asked.

"A few fans," Shownu answered. "Don't worry, it won't be that much of a crowd."

"Alright," said Jooheon. "I simply can't wait to get this started."

"How exciting," said Zoey as she held Jooheon's shoulder. "I simply can't wait to kick your butt."

"Ha. And you think that you're a better dancer than I am?"

"Of course, I am." Zoey battered her eyelashes and flipped her hair to the side. "No question about it."

"You're really driving me to the point where I can start this dance battle right now."

"Just you and me?"

"Ya. You and me."

"Wait, hold on now," said IM as he came to stand in between the two. "You can have your own dance battle later."

"You guys really are something," said Lee as she rolled her eyes.

I jumped off the platform and joined Lee, not worried that Zoey and Jooheon were likely to go at each other with IM around.

"You don't seem up for this," I said.

"I was at first," said Lee. "But you're all here just for fun, so I wouldn't blame you."

"Do you think we can win?" Mike asked as he came over to join us.

"What? You're now scared of the famous Monsta X?" Lee asked teasingly with a smirk on her face.

Mike furrowed his eyebrows. "No, I'm not."

"If you aren't, you wouldn't be asking me that question."

"But Mike has every right to ask," I said as I rubbed my neck. "To be honest, I've been thinking about it too."

Lee laughed. "Guys, it's not a competition where you would win a grand prize. You're here just for fun, remember?"

"I forget that sometimes," said Mike.

"Whatever the case, they are good and so are we," I said. "Whatever happens, will happen."

"I am right with you."

Then all of the sudden, the door behind us flew open. The first person who walked in was a bodyguard all dressed in black. Behind him came a group of people. The fans Shownu was talking about. More came through the door and they were all chatting amongst themselves with excitement. When those who came in first saw us, they stopped on their tracks and their mouths dropped open.

"Meet our audience," said Shownu as he came to stand beside me.

There weren't more than thirty to thirty five people. Wasn't much of a crowd, but it wasn't bad either.

A few girls upon seeing us screamed. As much as they wanted to run over to us, they behaved themselves because of the bodyguards and just waved at us. I waved back and so did the others. They even took out their phones and started taking pictures.

"I'll just go over there and explain to them what's going on," said Shownu.

"Ya, you do that, I'll get my team ready," I said.

Shownu walked over to the small crowd that came to watch the dance battle. I went over to Christine and Daniel who were talking with Wonho, Kihyun and Minhyuk and told them to meet with Lee and Mike on the other side. I went over to the platform where Zoey and Jooheon were still debating over who was a better dancer. IM was still with them and this time, Hyungwon was there too.

"Zoey, come here," I said. "We have to get ready."

"Okay, I'll be right there," said Zoey. "I still have to talk some sense into Jooheon."

"It's not going to work until we dance and show him who's better. So, come on, let's go. We need to get ready."

"Fine," said Zoey. She gave Jooheon a look. "You're so going down."

"We will see," said Jooheon.

"May the best team win," I said as Zoey jumped off the helipad platform.

"You too," said Hyungwon and IM said at the same time.

"But we're definitely going to win," said Jooheon.

Zoey and I rolled our eyes at him but I ended up laughing. Zoey on the other hand was taking this to a personal level.

"Come on," I said as I took hold of Zoey's arm and went to join the other Toxins with Lee.

"Good, you're all here," I said.

"Have you gathered us here because of the dance battle?" Daniel asked.

"Well, ya. I know we don't have a fixed routine for this one, so we have to work our way around this."

"Won't it be better if we do this freestyle?" Mike asked. "You and Shownu should have set the rules first."

"That is what I wanted to do after I had a talk with the audience," came Shownu's voice behind me.

Before I could turn around, I felt Shownu grab my hand from behind and drag me backwards with him.

"Let me borrow her just for a second," he said to the others. Still holding my hand, he dragged me an earshot away from the others.

"Okay, so what are the rules?" I asked as I looked at Shownu.

"I heard what Mike said just now and I was thinking we should do that."

"Well, freestyle is fine with me. So, what song are we dancing to?"

"I don't think you should be asking that question, Sam. We're here for a reason, aren't we?"

I hit my forehead. "Oh, ya. Silly of me to even ask. Hero."

"Smart." Shownu gave me a smile.

"But aren't you guys used to the routine for the song? I mean, won't freestyle be a bit inconveniencing?"

"Don't worry about us. We're fine. You should be worried about yourselves. It's freestyle after all, we could still do the routine if we want to."

I clicked my tongue. He did have a point.

"Okay, let's get started."

Shownu winked at me. "All the best."

I blushed but I tried to remain as stoic as ever. "You too."

He backed away a little before he could turn around and head to his team. He gave me a coy look with an amazing corky smile. As cute as that look was, it gave me goosebumps.

I quickly turned away and went back to my team.

"So, how are we doing this thing?" Christine asked as soon as I joined them.

"We're going in freestyle," I answered. "So, let's not make this a big deal, especially in front of the fans."

"I think she's talking about you, Zoey," said Lee.

"Really, Lee?" Zoey looked at Lee with an eyebrow raised. "I expected Mike to attack me, not you."

Mike gave Zoey a smirk. Luckily, she didn't notice it.

"She's just saying that because of you and Jooheon," said Daniel. "Don't get too offended."

Zoey sighed. "Jooheon and I were just joking around."

"I hope so," I said with my arms folded. "Just keep yourself under control."

"Yes, ma'am," Zoey gave me a hand salute.

"What song are we dancing too, if you don't mind me asking?" Daniel asked.

"Hero," I answered.

I felt a hand tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, there stood a young man in a white buttoned up shirt tucked in black jeans with cool black and white canvas. He wore geeky glasses but with his smartly brown hair that covered his forehead and diamond studs, he looked smart if not cute.

"Hey," said the young man before me. "I just came to inform you that the dance battle is about to start and you and your team should go up on the helipad platform."

"We're doing this on the helipad?" Zoey sounded surprised. "Well, that's something."

"No, that was just pretty obvious," said Lee, rolling her eyes at Zoey.

"You're doing it again." Zoey sounded frustrated this time around.

"We're on our way now," I said to the young man in front of me and giving him a smile, completely ignoring Lee and Zoey.

"Before that, may I take a quick selfie with you guys?" he asked.

Before I could accept, the rest of the team gathered around and the young man came to stand right beside me with his phone pulled out, his cheek against mine. I looked up at the camera and everyone else did the same with smiles on their faces, some doing the peace sign with their fingers. Zoey on the other hand, stuck her tongue out.

"Okay, everyone up the helipad, please," said the guy in glasses.

I led the way to the platform and at the same time, Monsta X were coming up on the other side being led by Shownu.

When we were all up the platform, the fans gathered around and started to cheer. This was going to be fun. I smiled to myself as I looked at our opponents and they looked back at us.

I turned to the Toxins. "Are you ready for this?" I asked.

"Ready as ever," Daniel answered.

Zoey cracked her fingers, looking at her opponents on the other side. "So ready," she said.

Christine gave me a wink. Mike nodded his head. He looked way more determined to beat Monsta X than we were.

Lee gave us a thumbs up and mouthed out "good luck." I nodded my head and went back to focusing what's at hand.

The guy in glasses also came up on the platform and stood in the space between The Toxins and Monsta X. Looked like he was the one hosting the show.

"Good evening, party people!" he said with so much enthusiasm. That got the crowd cheering. To be honest, I never thought the guy even had it in him.

"Tonight is going to be an awesome night, right here, right now," he continued. "We're going to have an epic dance battle with one of the world's best pop dancers. On the left corner, having this dance battle on their own home turf, the monsters taking over the music world, Monsta X!"

The crowd cheered loudly and some whistled. Most girls called out to Monsta X and screamed the loudest. Monsta X turned to the fans and waved. Some putting their hands together and acknowledging their fans support.

"On the right corner, our visitors all the way from the States and taking over the entertainment headlines all across the globe, the phenomenal, Toxins!"

The fans cheered just as loud as they had done for Monsta X. We waved at them and Zoey blew out kisses to the fans.

"Now, we're going to have a freestyle dance battle," continued the host. "Which ever team dances the best will depend on you. Now, who is ready for this?"

The fans cheered in response.

"Okay, let's do this!"

Once the host jumped down from the platform, the music started to play. There were loud speakers close to the platform. Monsta X got into formation and so did we.

Just as the music got to the climax, Monsta X, took to the centre. Their opening dance was almost similar to the one they had done in the music video. Nothing we can do about that.

On the first verse, Christine and I took the centre, walking in with attitude. That sent Monsta X back to their corner. Christine and I danced, our moves synchronising with each other.

Then Shownu and Wonho came up, backing Christine and I to our corner and taking centre.

Coming to the chorus, the five of us Toxins took the dance floor. The crowd cheered as we showed off our dance moves in front of Monsta X.

Soon enough, we backed off and Jooheon and IM took centre. Afterwards, Zoey and Daniel took to the centre.

Mike then went in solo and Hyungwon also joined in. There was loud cheering from the crowd and from the teams on stage as well giving our support to our fellow teammate.

On the third verse, Kihyun and Minhyuk took centre. Just as the song was about to end on the chrous, the two teams started to dance all at once. And surprisingly, we The Toxins danced the way Monsta X did in their music video. Apparently, they did so too. That felt a little strange but no one took offense to it and we all took centre and danced together. Afterwards, the song was done and the fans started to clap and cheer.

"This was so awesome!" IM exclaimed who stood right next to me, pulling me into a hug.

"Okay," I grew a little surprised by the hug. While the fans were cheering, a nice sweet sigh came from seeing us hug.

"Oh," IM quickly dropped his hands. He was blushing and so was I. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine," I said as I looked away and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Oooooh, that was so romantic," came the host who came back onto the platform and the fans couldn't agree more.

"Alright! Enough of that," said the host. "Now, the moment of truth. Your cheers for the group I point at, will determine if they win or not."

Oh gosh! Judgment had finally come. I put my hands together and rubbed them. To be honest, I was pretty nervous. But all that didn't matter anyway.

"So, do you think The Toxins danced better?" the host asked as he pointed his hand at us.

The crowd cheered loud. I heard Zoey squirm next to me. She was nervous too.

"How about Monsta X?"

The crowd cheered louder on the mention of Monsta X. Monsta X won the dance battle. I clapped for them and so did the other Toxins. Zoey didn't really look happy at all but she clapped anyway.

"Congratulations, guys," said Christine as she walked over to them and hugged Hyungwon first.

"You guys were awesome," said Shownu as he approached and he and Mike gave each other a high five.

"We're so going to get you next time," said Mike giving Shownu a smirk.

"Can't wait for that day," said Jooheon as he came to join us.

"You better be ready for it," said Daniel.

"I think you guys danced way better than we did," said Hyungwon as he came to join us with Christine.

"Does that even matter?" I asked. "I mean, we did have fun, didn't we?"

"Ya, we did," said Minhyuk.

"Well, someone still doesn't look happy," said IM.

I knew who he was talking about. I looked at Zoey behind me. She was staring elsewhere towards the night sky with her arms folded and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Is she upset?" Wonho asked.

"A little," Mike and I answered at the same time.

"I know how to cheer her up," said Jooheon.

"I don't think you should," said Christine. "I mean, you're going to annoying her even more."

"No, she won't." Jooheon walked past me to get to Zoey.

"This is going to be fun," I said as I turned around to see what was going to happen.

"Hey, Zoey," said Jooheon as he came towards Zoey with open arms.

"Don't you dare come near me," said Zoey with her finger raised, warning him.

"Why? I want to hug you so that you can feel better."

"Get away from me, Jooheon!"

"Come on, Zoey," said Christine. "Just do it."

"No!" Zoey exclaimed like a child as she backed away from Jooheon.

"Come on, bring it in," said Jooheon as he came closer. Zoey was just on the edge of the platform. But she soon turned round, moving along the edge.

"He won't bite you," said Wonho. "Just hug him."

"Don't make us start chanting," said Mike.

"Chanting what?" Zoey asked looking at Mike.

"Hug him, hug him," Mike started, clapping his hands together.

Surprisingly, I found myself chanting and so did each one of us on stage. Even the fans joined in too.

"No!" Zoey said.

"Come on," said Jooheon. "Everyone wants this."

"Well, not me," said Zoey, still backing away. "You've to catch me first."

Zoey ran across the helipad platform. The rest of us made way so that she could run through. She jumped off the platform, running into the fans.

"She's so fun," said Jooheon as he soon followed suit, running after Zoey.

The two ran around the rooftop in circles like little kids or rather a dog chasing a cat. Zoey being the cat and Jooheon, the dog.

"Get away from me, Jooheon!" Zoey called out to him as she ran behind a pole.

"I'm still coming for you," said Jooheon, passing the pole and almost catching her.

The fans couldn't help but laugh at the situation at hand that some started filming what was going on.

I also couldn't help but laugh myself. This was fun.

"Collins is going to love this," said Lee who came up on the platform and started filming the chase with her phone.

"Tonight has just been awesome," said Kihyun.

"I couldn't agree more," I said.

"We should be doing this more often," said Mike.

"The chase or the dance battle?" Daniel asked.

Mike looked at Zoey who screamed out loud just as Jooheon was about to catch her.

"Both," he answered.

"I wouldn't mind playing catch with you guys," said IM. "As long as we have to catch Sam."

I raised an eyebrow as I turned to look at IM. "Me? Seriously?"

"I wouldn't mind that too," said Hyungwon.

"Me neither," said Shownu.

"I'm not a deer you have to hunt, you know?" I folded my arms.

"Let's do this," said Kihyun. "For Monsta X only, whoever catches Sam, will be free from doing the chores for a week."

"Awesome idea," said Shownu.

"This just got interesting," said Christine. "And on The Toxins part, catch Sam and you will be leader for a week."

"This just real, "I said shaking my head. "Lee, help me out here."

"Can we play that another time?" Lee suggested. "At the moment, Zoey and Jooheon's game just got interesting."

"Ya, so, Sam, get ready," said Hyungwon as the corner of his lips were raised to a smile. "You're next."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said, so not looking forward to that day.

Zoey captured my attention as she screamed. Jooheon had finally caught her from behind and he hugged her, not willing to let her go.

"Well, it's about time," said Daniel.

"Now that that's over," I said, "if any of you don't catch me before I reach downstairs to the car, we are not going to play the next game."

"Huh?" the others muttered.

I caught the other Toxins and Monsta X off guard. I quickly dashed off, jumped down from the platform and headed for the door.

"No fair, Sam!" Christine exclaimed behind me.

"Let's go, we better catch her," said Wonho.

"Zoey! Jooheon! We have to catch Sam!" Mike called out to them. "So stop hugging and let's go!"

I smiled at the others and winked when I reached the door. The others were all jumping down the platform. I quickly pulled the door open and ran down the stairs. I am fast when I needed to be and I was fast now. They weren't going to catch me, no matter what.

Besides, I am the Black Kitty after all.


	17. Chapter 16: Boys' Night Out (Part 1)

Mike's P.O.V

"You guys were so awesome yesterday," said Jennie as she walked right next to me as we headed towards the YG main building. "It's too bad that you didn't win."

"If you ask me, we were way better than they were," said Zoey.

"I totally agree," said Lisa, nodding her head.

"Can we please stop talking about yesterday," I said.

"What's wrong with you now, Mike?" Zoey asked as she turned around so as to look at me.

"Nothing, I just want to get myself ready for tonight. And talking about the dance battle isn't doing me any good."

"What's for tonight?" Jisoo asked.

"Oh, it's nothing really," said Daniel.

We were now walking into the lobby and heading straight to the elevator.

"He's just saying that because something awesome is going on tonight," said Christine.

"What's happening tonight?" Rosé asked.

"It's nothing," I cut in quickly before Zoey could blurt anything out. "It ain't important."

"Well, it's important to me," said Zoey as we reached the elevator.

Daniel pressed the down button to the summon the elevator. "Give it a break, Zoey," he said. "You've been on us about it since morning."

"No, I haven't," Zoey defended herself.

"Yes, you have," said Christine, giving Zoey the eye.

"About what?" Lisa asked. "You guys really like leaving us anticipated over everything."

"Tell me about it," said Jennie.

The doors to the elevator slid open and we all stepped in. Before the door closed, I looked over at the main entrance to see if there was any sign of Sam or anyone coming with her from the studio.

"You should have seen Zoey this morning," said Christine immediately the doors closed and she pressed one of the floor buttons. "She couldn't stop pestering the boys."

"Over what?" Jisoo asked. "We've been asking that a million times already. She was also pestering them during practise so we were wondering what was going on."

I looked over at Daniel who wanted to answer. He caught my eye and kept his mouth shut. But I gave him a nod to go ahead anyway.

"She wants to join Mike and I tonight to attend a baseball game," Daniel answered.

"You're a fan of baseball?" Rosé asked as she looked at Zoey.

"Yes, I am," said Zoey.

"No, you're not," Christine, Daniel and I answered at the same time.

Zoey stamped her foot on the elevator floor. "Dang it!"

The doors soon flew open. We had reached the shower rooms and we all stepped out of the elevator.

"But why can't she join you?" Lisa asked.

"Because, it's a boys' night out," I answered looking at Zoey. "And no girls allowed."

"Oh, who are you going with?" Jennie asked.

"EXO," Zoey answered. She still didn't sound too happy that we will be going with them.

"I bet it's going to be a blast," said Jennie giving me a huge grin. I couldn't help but feel my cheeks heat up for a moment.

"We better go get ready," said Daniel as he already started his way heading to the right side to the boy's shower rooms. "Let's go, bro."

"See you tomorrow," I said to all the BlackPink members.

They waved back and said bye and headed to the left towards the girl's shower rooms with Zoey and Christine. I followed Daniel down the hall.

A few minutes later, when I was done in the shower and walking out in my towel, I heard Seunghoon singing out loud from one of the showers. He and the rest of WINNER and BigBang had come in a good ten minutes later when Daniel and I were already in the showers.

I shook my head at Seunghoon's singing. It could only mean one thing. I headed towards the lockers where I already found my brother dressing up. He was putting on his long sleeved blue cashmere t-shirt.

"Seunghoon has been singing forever, don't you think?" Daniel asked as he sat down on the bench and was putting on his black and white kicks.

"It's annoying," Mino answered before I did, appearing before us around the lockers. His long blonde dyed hair wet and was drying it with another towel.

"Don't tell me he was troubling Sam the whole time," I said as I rolled my eyes.

Mino only gave a snicker as he headed to the lockers opposite the ones I was getting my clothes from. He didn't have to say anything. We already knew.

Before we left the studio, Seunghoon and Sam were having a chat. Somehow, instead of a normal chat Seunghoon kind of turned things around and ended up messing with Sam instead. The four of us Toxins and BlackPink left the place, thinking it wasn't that much of a big deal to be there and that Sam would handle it. Besides, the rest of WINNER and BigBang were there, so, nothing much to worry about.

"How did things end with Sam and him?" Daniel asked Mino.

"Fine. She managed to get away somehow," said Mino. "She runs so fast."

"That's how she managed to get away from us last night," I said as I quickly took out a bottle of lotion.

After we had our dance battle with Monsta X last night, Sam had run out on us for us to catch her after Jooheon had caught Zoey. Her condition was whosoever caught her before she reached the car downstairs, the next catch game would take place and she would be the main target. Besides, the two groups all set their own conditions on whosoever caught Sam in the next game. Apparently, she set up a condition of her own, catching us completely off guard. As usual she ended up finding herself in the car. That meant no catch game. Bummer.

"Sam is really full of surprises, isn't she?" Mino asked.

"Why do you think I like her?" answered Seungri who also appeared behind the lockers.

I rolled my eyes upon hearing Seungri. He never stops praising Sam when anyone of us ever talks about her. Not that I like it or anything. Sam is special and I won't deny it. I'm actually really proud that she's my sister. Most guys I know like Sam, if not have a crush on her like Seungri and Seunghoon. Not to mention G-Dragon who gets rather annoyed when anyone talks about Sam the way Seungri just did.

"We know that, Seungri," said Daniel. I noticed him roll his eyes as well. Looked like he knew it was coming just like I did.

"Just so you know, I also like her," said Mino.

"I thought you liked Zoey," said Seungri as he went to his locker.

"It's just a compliment. I really like Zoey. Sam is nice, that's why I said that."

"Be quiet or else, G-Dragon and Seunghoon might hear you," I said.

"Too late, heard every word," came G-Dragon's voice.

G-Dragon and Taeyang came from behind the lockers together in towels wrapped around their waists. Everyone around was quiet. I was all dressed up and ready to leave.

"Don't get too upset like you usually do, GD," said Daniel as he stood up from the bench.

"I'm not upset," said G-Dragon. "Why should I be?"

"Well...." I looked up at the ceiling, "whenever Sam's name is mentioned, you always get this funny look on your face."

"No, I don't," said G-Dragon casually shrugging his shoulders. I couldn't help but snicker.

"What?" he asked looking at me.

"Nothing, it's just that you have that look right now," I answered.

Mino and Seungri looked into their lockers trying to ignore the whole thing but they couldn't help but snicker then burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" G-Dragon asked looking confused.

"Mike was right when he said you have this look on your face when someone talks about Sam," said Mino as he turned to G-Dragon his eyes almost filled with tears. "I've to admit, he's right."

Seungri quickly stopped laughing and went back to fetching things in his locker when he felt Ji Yong's eyes on him.

"Whatever," G-Dragon completely brushed it off and went to his locker.

"Well, that was something," said Taeyang as he came to his locker next to mine. "You don't tell Sam what happens in here, do you?"

Daniel gave out a laugh. "No freaking way," he answered. "She would be ignoring you guys if we ever did."

"Besides, what are bros for?" I asked shrugging my shoulders. "What ever happens amongst us stays with us no matter what."

"Ya, you're right," Taeyang said with a smile.

"Hey, where are you guys heading to anyway?" Seungri asked.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked as I wore my shoes.

"Well, Zoey was onto you two begging for you to take her with you," Seungri answered as he looked at me. "So I was wondering what was up since she seemed so persistent."

"Zoey is always persistent," Seungyoon answered as he quickly appeared around the lockers from the showers.

"I was about to say that," said Mino looking at him with a smile on his face.

"True that," said Daniel.

"I also noticed it too," said Taeyang. "So, where are you going? And how come Zoey isn't coming with you?"

"She isn't the only one whose coming with us," I answered. "It's a boys' night out."

"Oh, cool," said Jinwoo as he also came from the showers. "Did I just hear a boys' night out?"

"Yep, we are going for a baseball game with EXO," said Daniel.

"Cool," said G-Dragon.

"Now I see why Zoey was so persistence," said Mino. "It's EXO."

"Ya, but too bad she isn't coming, and I don't care," I said with a smirk.

"It's great that she isn't going," said Daniel. "At least we get to have a breather away from the girls."

"Especially Zoey," I added. "I hope the girls are ready. Sam said we would leave early today considering that we have to meet EXO at the hotel."

"Sam is so reasonable," said Seungri. "She doesn't want you to be late and miss out on the fun at all."

"That's why she's my sister," I said with a smile as I looked at G-Dragon who had that funny look on his face again, "and our leader."

Upon saying that, my phone on the bench beeped. I had a message. I quickly picked it up and found a message from Sam saying that she was waiting for us with the others at the elevator.

"We better get going," I said as I quickly took my gym bag out of my locker. Daniel already had his out and on the bench. "They are waiting."

"Okay, have a nice time," said Mino.

Daniel and I said bye to the others and made our way out of the shower room. TOP and Seunghoon were still having a shower. We loudly said goodbye to them and we were soon in the corridor heading to the elevator. As stated earlier in the message Sam sent me, we found the other three Toxins waiting for us.

"Good, are you all ready?" Sam asked as she looked our way and we came closer.

"Totally," Daniel answered.

"We better go. Suho called and said he would be by the hotel with the others in twenty minutes. So we better be there early because I don't want to take any chances."

I smiled at my sister. She has always been the punctual type. Even if she wasn't going for the baseball game, she wanted us to be early no matter what.

She pressed the down button to the elevator and when the door opened and we all got in, Zoey couldn't help but snort.

I smirked. That only meant one thing.

"I am so not happy about this," Zoey blurted out like a little child.

Bingo.

"Give it a break, Zoey," said Christine. "We're so tired of your tantrums. You aren't a child anymore."

"I know that. It's just that, I so much as wanted to go out with EXO too."

"There will be time for that later," said Sam. "Let the boys have fun for a change."

Zoey opened her mouth to say something but I noticed Sam look at her through the corner of her eye. Zoey closed her mouth and looked up at the ceiling. I continued to smirk, thankful for Sam for putting Zoey in her place. Looked like Daniel was also relaxed telling from his body language. It seems he wasn't comfortable of Zoey complaining over the same thing.

When we reached the lobby, we headed out straight into the car park. Lee wasn't going to ride with us back to the hotel since she was quiet busy today concerning the big event coming up.

A few minutes later we were at the hotel on our floor. Daniel and I had put our gym bags away in our room and went to the lounge to wait for EXO to pick us up.

"Guys, will it be okay if......," said Zoey as she came into the lounge.

"No!" Daniel and I said at the same time, folding our arms.

"Awh, come on, you guys!" Zoey pleaded with her hands clapped together. "Can I please, please come? I promise I'll never trouble you like I usually do."

"No way," said Daniel. "You want us to take you with us? It's a boys' night out for crying out loud."

"But I really want to come."

"There are only two tickets meant for Daniel and I. There is no third person involved," I said.

Sam soon came in the lounge. She looked at us then at Zoey who still had that pleading look on her face.

"They are here," Sam announced, ignoring Zoey.

"May I at least escort you two down to the lobby?" Zoey asked.

"No, you won't. I'll be taking them there. You on the other hand might act clingy on EXO. Let's go, guys."

"You're so not fair, Sam," said Zoey as she followed Sam, Daniel and I to the elevator.

"I am as fair as I can ever be," said Sam as she pressed the button to the elevator and the doors immediately flew open. Daniel and I stopped inside first.

Just as Sam was going in, Zoey was about to do the same until a hand appeared from behind and held her shoulder so as to stop her from getting her foot in the elevator. Christine's hand.

"What the....! Christine?" Zoey looked behind and looked surprised by the sight of Christine.

"Bye, Zoey," I waved at her as the elevator doors started to close.

Even when the doors closed shut before us, I heard Zoey's whining. Sam pressed the button to the lobby and within seconds, the door flew open.

Upon stepping in the lobby, we immediately saw Suho and Chanyeol waiting for us. They smiled upon seeing us come out of the elevator. I had a hunch that those smiles weren't for Daniel and I.

"Hey," said Sam when we were within a few feet away from the two EXO members.

"Hi," the two replied with big grins on their faces. I wanted to slap my forehead in annoyance. It could clearly show that they were so into my sister. When guys look at her like that, I can't help but try and hide my irritation.

"So, these two are ready to go and I wanted to see them off," said Sam. "Take care of them for me, okay? I wouldn't want them getting into any trouble."

"Don't worry, they will be safe with us," said Chanyeol.

"We aren't babies anymore, Sam," I said as I looked at her.

"But mum always refers you as babies," she said raising her eyebrow at me.

"'Her babies'," I rephrased. "But Daniel is her Honey Bear, though."

"Mike!" Daniel looked at me with a look telling me to shut up.

"Well, have fun you two," said Sam as she turned to look at Daniel and I. Then she turned to Suho and Chanyeol. "Say hi to the others for me."

"Will do," said Suho. "Goodnight, Sam."

Sam smiled at them and quickly made her way to the elevator. Good. Now the boys' night out can begin.

"Come on, the others are waiting outside," said Chanyeol as he led the way with Suho.

"This is going to be so awesome," said Daniel as we followed them out of the hotel. We found an SUV car waiting out in the parking lot.

The car door flew open and there in the car were happy faces of EXO.

"Hey, guys!" said Kai.

"Hey," Daniel and I greeted everyone else at the same time.

"Isn't Sam with you?" Baekhyun who sat at the back of the SUV asked.

"No, we met her at the lobby and she was saying hi to you all," said Suho.

Baekhyun and the rest of the EXO members in the car sighed. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It looks like they all wanted to see Sam.

"Wow," I couldn't keep what I had to say in any longer. "You really wanted to see Sam, didn't you?"

"Well, ya," answered D.O. "It's too bad that we will have to see her another time."

"Luckily, I saw her," said Chanyeol with a corky smile on his face.

"Just wipe that smile off your face, Chan," said Sehun with an annoyed look on his face. "It's so not funny."

"Get in guys, we are going to be late," said Suho as he looked at Daniel and I.

I got into the car and then Daniel and Suho followed. Chanyeol went in the front passenger seat. There was already a driver in the driver's seat. As soon as we were all settled, the driver started the car and drove away from the hotel.

"How is Sam by the way?" Xiumin asked.

"Oh, she's fine," said Daniel. "Isn't anyone going to ask how the other girls are?"

"Oh, we know that they are okay," said Lay who sat behind us and was looking through his phone. "At least they always post something online everyday."

"Ya, Sam is different apparently," I said.

"I still like her," said Chen.

Every EXO muttered in agreement. Daniel and I didn't say anything.

"Well, you're lucky that Zoey didn't come along with us," I said. "She would scratch all of you, even if she isn't a cat."

"Why? Because we aren't talking about her?" Sehun asked.

"Pretty much," answered Daniel. "She would be really disappointed."

"If not heartbroken," I said as I rolled my eyes.

"You should've seen the way she's been bugging us the whole day," said Daniel. "She really wanted to come along with us to the baseball game."

"Well, as far as I know, Zoey isn't much of a baseball fan," said Suho who sat next to Daniel.

"Our point exactly," I said. "And besides, it's a boys' night out."

"True," said D.O.

"You should have seen how she pleaded with us," said Daniel.

"It was ridiculous," I said as I laughed.

This was the perfect time to make fun of Zoey, since she wasn't around. I continued to tell the guys how she kept pleading with us and I made a lot of funny expressions. They couldn't help but laugh. Daniel also joined in telling the story.

"Oh my gosh!" Chen couldn't stop laughing as he slid down the chair. "You guys are killing me."

Chanyeol couldn't stop laughing in the front seat. He had tears in his eyes. "Stop it, you two. Before we end up blurting all of this out to Zoey the next time we meet."

"What can she say about that?" I asked. "Even if we were to make fun of her, she would be glad that we were talking about her anyway."

Daniel laughed so hard. "That's so true," he said.

"Oh, we are finally here," said Suho.

I looked out of the window. We had arrived at the Jamsil baseball stadium that is situated next to the Seoul Olympic Stadium. Home of baseball teams LG Twins and Doosan Bears. But at the moment, LG Twins was the team playing and hosting Lotte Giants.

When the car parked right in the parking lot, we stepped out of the car. The air outside was cool and it was amazing.

We made our way to the stadium and we headed to the gates where we found a queue. Lucky enough, they weren't too long and moving pretty fast. We joined one of the queues while we had a chat.

"Who do you think is going to win, Mike?" Xiumin asked me as he stood right behind me in the line.

"Too be honest, I'm not sure who to go for since I didn't really get to read any of the team's stats before coming here," I answered. "But I'll have to go for the home team."

"I think I'm going for Lotte Giants," said Chanyeol who stood in front of Daniel.

"I'm for the LG Twins," said Xiumin.

"As usual," said Baekhyun, standing behind Xiumin.

"Who wants to place a bet on whichever team is going to win?" Chanyeol asked with a devious smile on his face.

I displayed the same smile. "I thought you would never ask," I said, rubbing my hands together.

"This is going to be fun," said Sehun who was standing right in front of Chanyeol and had turned around upon hearing the bet.

"Okay, so what's going to be the condition if the team loses?" Daniel asked, standing in front of me.

"It has to be something so ridiculous," I said as I laughed.

"Don't tell me you're planning a bet right now," called Suho who was way ahead of us. We were coming close to the ticket stand.

"Of course we are," Chanyeol called out to his leader. "What fun is the game if we don't put up a bet?"

I saw Suho roll his eyes but smile at the same time.

"Are you in it or not, Suho?" I asked. He turned to look at me.

"Of course I am," Suho answered as he looked at me.

Just as we were deciding who will support which team, a few heads from other queues turned to us. We hadn't even noticed that there were a few fans. The only time I realised that a few of our fans had seen us was when we heard giggles coming from the other queue.

I looked up and noticed a group of girls giggling and waving at us. Oh goodness! Fame could be such a curse sometimes.

"Yikes," said Chen who was behind Baekhyun. "We better get going. How far are we till the ticket stand?"

As though Chen's prayer was answered, two security officers came over to us. Looked they had already seen what was going on.

One of them said, "please come with us, we will escort you inside."

The two security officers took us to the ticket stand. Those in front of us at first even had to make way and they also grew excited at the sight of superstars. Some even had their phones out and took pictures as usual.

As soon as we gave away our tickets, we were escorted up to our seats on one of the stands in the stadium. We thanked the two security guards for helping us out to get to our seats. We even took selfies and pictures with them.

One thing I loved about watching such sport in the stadium was that you get to interact with a lot of people. We met many fans where we sat and we took so many pictures with them before the game started. We would have sat in the VIP box if we wanted to, but Suho said it wouldn't be any fun than being out with the rest of the people.

Before the game started, I reminded Lay, D.O and Daniel who were closer to me about the bet.

"We should remind the others about the bet and that we haven't set up a condition yet," I said.

"Ya, you're right," said Lay who sat to my right. "I'll remind them from my side."

"I'll tell the others this side as well," said D.O who sat at the left side of Daniel.

As soon as the message was passed on, I turned to the left and then to the right. I could see others discussing over what the condition was going to be and who they would go for. Soon, Lay nudged me on my shoulder. Daniel leaned in to listen.

"Chanyeol, Kai, Sehun and Suho are up for Lotte Giants," said Lay.

"And who are you going for?" Daniel asked him.

"I'm going for the home team. Oh, and Suho suggests that whoever wins, will be the ones to set the condition on what to do to those who lose."

I shook my head. "Fair enough. I have fantastic stupid ideas of what the losing side is going to do."

Lay gave me a smirk. "Let's just see what will happen if LG Twins wins."

"It's going to be epic." I stared at the pitch.

I felt a nudge again and this time from Daniel. I looked at him and I noticed that D.O had come with a reply.

"So, what are the others saying?" I asked.

"Xiumin, Baekhyun and Chen are for LG Twins," said D.O. "I'm going for them too."

"Great. Suho suggested that the winning team will decide on what the losers are going to do."

"That's fine. Who are you going for, Daniel?"

"I would like to stay on a neutral ground for this one," answered Daniel. "I'm just going to be a spectator and nothing else."

"Why?" Lay asked. "Scared of what would happen if you lose?"

"Pretty much," said Daniel. "I mean, I wouldn't like to go against Mike here. He comes up with the most ridiculous conditions if you were to lose a bet."

I gave Daniel a smirk. He really knew me after all.

"Really?" D.O asked.

"Ask the other Toxins. Zoey is the one whose been on the worst receiving end the most."

"Not to worry, we will only see when the game ends," I said.

As soon as I said that, there was a loud cheer from the massive crowd that filled the stadium. The two teams had come on the pitch and soon enough the game was underway. LG Twins in their black and white baseball uniforms started off as the fielding team (the defense) and Lotte Giants the batting team (The offence).

The game was great and apparently it was kind of difficult to get into the next inning because the team batting wasn't going out so easily.

The game took almost two hours but it was exciting anyway and at the end of all nine innings, LG Twins won the game with the most runs. I was so happy. The two hours and forty five minutes were completely worth it.

Just as we left the stadium and headed to the car, I couldn't wait for what was to come next.

I was walking with Daniel, Xiumin, Chen and D.O towards the car. The others were way behind us. I bet the other four who had thought Lotte Giants were going to win were thinking about what they were going to do now.

"Should we come up with a condition now?" Xiumin asked. "Our team won the game after all."

"I bet Mike already has something," said D.O.

"Oh really?" Chen asked.

"Mike comes up with the most ridiculous conditions if you lose a bet," said Daniel. "That's why I didn't want to be involved in this game."

"So what have you come up with, Mike?" Xiumin asked.

I am glad he asked. I turned my head and saw the others still behind us. I smiled. We were going to have a lot of fun.

As soon as we reached the car, I turned to Xiumin to answer his question, "let's wait for the others to get here. Then we can get this show on the road."

"With that smile on your face, I just have to expect the worst from you," said Daniel.

Baekhyun, Lay, Suho, Kai, Sehun and Chanyeol soon joined us by the car.

"Aigoo," said Suho. "It's such a bum that we lost."

"Ya, you did. And now that you lost, it's time for your judgement day," said D.O with a smile on his face.

"We know that," said Chanyeol. "You don't have to remind us."

"Can we get this over with?" Sehun asked. "Tell us what we have to do."

"You will do what we say, alright," said Baekhyun. "But first, let's grab something to eat. I'm starving."

"Whose up for pizza?" Suho asked.

Everyone agreed. We had a really long game that the snacks we had wasn't enough for our bellies. Now I understood Sam when she said boys eat too much.

"Okay, then after that, we go to the mall," I said.

"Why the mall?" Kai asked with his eyebrow russes. "Don't tell me you plan on doing something really embarrassing to us there."

"Oh, no, Kai." I shook my head. "We aren't going to do it at the mall. Besides, we haven't figured out what you're going to do."

"Then why are we going to the mall?" Chen asked.

"Oh, you will see. Let's go eat first, I'm so starved."

We all went into the the car and the driver took us to the pizza parlour where we ordered almost twenty boxes of large sized pizzas. The fans were going to be surprised when they see the pictures of us eating and finishing all twenty pizzas. We even had a eating competition between Daniel and Sehun on who was going to finish one large sized pizza on time. Daniel ended up finishing the whole pizza in minutes. Sehun was already too full that he couldn't go on any further.

"That's why I'm the pizza king," said Daniel who leaned back on the seat and tapped his tummy. Even when he had eaten so much, his stomach didn't bulge as much as some of us did.

"You're the junk food king, bro," I corrected him as I sat down next to him. "How is that you're not even full?"

"We had almost three long hours at the Jamsil stadium. Trust me, the little snacks were like air in my stomach."

Kai almost burst out laughing. "Sam isn't going to be too happy that you ate all that pizza alone," he said.

"Mum won't be either," I said. "She did tell Sam to watch over his diet."

"Well, Sam isn't here and we were just having fun," said Daniel. "I know she won't mind for tonight."

"True." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Okay," said Xiumin who sat upright. He also ate a little too much and was so full. "Now it's time for those who lost the bet, to get the punishment they deserve."

"Spoken like a judge and executioner," said Lay with the corner of his lips raised to a smile. "I like it."

"I think I have an idea," said Baekhyun.

"If it's dancing naked in front of you, I am not doing that," said Chanyeol shaking his head.

"Okay, disturbing," I said shaking off the image that was about to form in my own head.

"Let Mike share what he had thought of at first," said D.O.

"Yes, Mike tell us," said Chen.

"Okay, if you really insist," I said as I leaned my elbows on the table and looked at everyone with a smile on my face.

This boys' night was just getting started. And it's going to be a blast.


	18. Chapter 17: Boys' Night Out (Part 2)

Sam's P.O.V

I had the TV remote control in my hand, changing the channels, when I heard Zoey whining over her phone. I don't know what was up with her now. If she wasn't admiring any Korean guys on her phone and crying over them because she would never be their girlfriend, then I don't know what she could be whining about.

"Can you please stop doing that?" I asked, turning to look at her. "You sound like a puppy, you know?"

"Are you seeing this right now?" Zoey asked.

I rolled my eyes. She completely ignored my statement. I shook my head and went back to looking at the TV and changing the channels.

"So, not fair," Zoey continued to complain.

"What now?" I asked as I looked at her.

Zoey looked at me and I saw her cheeks blush.

"What's up, Zoey? You've been complaining about who knows what for hours now."

"It's nothing. Just ignore me." She went back to looking at her phone.

"It's hard to do so when you're talking like that."

"Sorry."

I went back to tapping at the remote control when I finally found myself at the sports channel. I noticed the news sports man was now focused on baseball. I got a little interested when I heard the baseball teams, Lotte Giants and LG Twins.

"Oh, looks like LG Twins won," I said.

Zoey now looked up at the screen. For some reason that I can't explain, she gasped.

"What now?" I asked again.

She looked at me and at the same time pointed her finger towards the TV. "Those are the same teams EXO and the boys went to watch, right?" she asked.

"Ummm, ya," I said shrugging my shoulders. "What's the problem?"

Zoey went back to looking at her phone and she let out a cry. I wanted to be shocked but instead, I raised an eyebrow.

I finally decided to take her phone and when I did, she didn't fight to take it back. She was still crying. I shook my head. She was dramatic for sure.

I looked at her phone and I saw she was on Instagram. She was looking at photos of EXO and my two brothers at the baseball game, some with their fans. There were plenty of photos of them. Now I realised what she was up to this entire time.

"Seriously? Even when you're here, you still want to feel like you're with them, don't you?" I asked.

"What do you think?" Zoey lifted her legs up on the couch and folded her arms. She looked like a child.

I smiled and handed her back her phone. I went on to change the channel until I found the one I was looking for.

"I wonder what's taking Christine and Lee so long," I said. "The movie is about to start."

All of the sudden, Collins came in the lounge.

"I heard a puppy just now," said Collins. "I thought the noise came from here."

I looked up at Collins and so did Zoey. I laughed.

"What's so funny?" Collins asked.

"There is no puppy, Collins," I said. "It's Zoey that sounded like a puppy a while ago."

Collins gave Zoey a questioning look. "Really?"

"Ya, it was me," said Zoey. "Sorry if I disturbed you." She quickly went back to looking at her phone.

"Let me guess, she's on some social media app looking at pictures of EXO, Mike and Daniel, right?"

"Right," she answered instead.

Collins shook his head. "Typical."

"Are you still working?" I asked him.

"No, I was just trying to relax for a little bit. I've had a long day."

"The night's still young, why don't you join us for a movie? Lee and Christine have gone to fetch some popcorn from the kitchen downstairs."

"Really?" Collins had an eyebrow raised. "Why bother the cooks downstairs for popcorn?"

I chuckled and at the same time gave a shrug. I also thought it was way out of proportion. Let's just see if they manage to pull it off. Which hopefully, they will.

"So, what movie are you watching?" Collins asked, looking at the TV screen. "I hope it's not one of those Korean romantic movies."

"No, as a matter of fact, it's one of TOP's action movies," I said.

"That's interesting. I might just join you. That's if Zoey doesn't mind."

"Oh my goodness!" Zoey exclaimed still looking at her phone. "These guys even went out for pizza and had twenty large sized pizzas!"

"She won't mind," I said giving Collins a smile.

Just as Collins joined us on the couch, sitting right next to me, there came a sound from the elevator and Christine and Lee appeared in the lounge with two large silver bowls of popcorn. They each carried a bowl.

"Wow, you really did pull it off," I said.

"Yep, it really wasn't that hard to begin with," said Lee.

"You're joining us for the movie, Collins?" Christine asked.

"Ya, why not? At least it's an action movie," said Collins.

Lee and Christine soon joined us on the couch. There were a only a few minutes left till the movie started.

"I think you should put that phone away, Zoey," I said. "The movie is about to start."

"Wait a minute," said Zoey still staring at her phone and this time she looked really alert.

"What now?" Christine asked.

"These boys are up to something. It's like they had some bet."

"So?" Lee asked.

"Mike just posted something on Twitter and it looks like they are about to do something crazy."

"And what should we do about it?" I asked. "They are having fun as usual. I don't think we have to interfere."

"But aren't you worried? I mean, they can be up to something."

"Of course they are, Zoey. So what if they placed a bet? We can't do anything now. Let them have fun. They are boys after all."

"I agree," said Collins. "Let them have a wild time for a change. Every guy needs that once in a while."

"Well, I seriously think I should keep an eye on them on social media," said Zoey.

I grabbed her phone from her hands and when she tried to get it back, I passed it over to Collins who passed it on to Lee. She quickly switched it off and handed it over to Christine who put it aside.

"Why did you do that for?" Zoey asked.

"You're only trying to see what the boys are up to because you want to see EXO," I said. "And for goodness sake, we all planned to watch this movie together, so sit back and relax."

"Fine. I guess you're right."

I smiled at her as the movie started and Lee passed me the bowl of popcorn. Zoey was taking this a little too far. I should be the worried one because my brothers were out there and I had no clue of what's going on. But I wasn't going to ruin their night knowing that they were just having fun.

I just hope that whatever they are up to wouldn't get them into trouble. Which I know they won't.

But it was pretty obvious that they were up to something really ridiculous right now.

***

Mike's P.O.V

"Are you going to tell us what's in those shopping bags?" Chanyeol asked as he looked back at us from the front seat.

"No," said Daniel. "You will have to wait till later."

"I just can't wait to see your place though," I said excitedly. I felt like a little boy going to Disney Land.

"We're going to have so much fun," said Suho.

"And at least you get to play out what we have for you since you lost the bet," said Baekhyun.

"You don't have to remind us," said Kai in the backseat.

I couldn't help but smile. I had a peek in the bag that laid on my lap and my smile soon turned into a grin.

After we had pizza, we went to the mall. Daniel, Chen, Lay and I went to buy the stuff for the bet while the others went around window shopping. I told the others to keep Chanyeol, Kai, Sehun and Suho distracted so that they wouldn't see which shop we had gone to to buy what we needed.

We soon found ourselves in front of a two floored luxurious villa. The place was amazing and as soon as the car parked in front of the house, Daniel and I quickly got out of the car since we were closer to the door.

"Wow," said Daniel as he looked at the building in front of them.

"You like the place?" Sehun asked.

"Like it? It's totally legit."

"If Sam were here, she would have totally fallen in love with it," I said. "This place is awesome."

"You think so?" Xiumin asked as he jumped out of the car.

"Totally," said Daniel. "Sam has always liked such houses. A villa, especially."

The place was magnificent. Not only would Sam like it, the others would too. Daniel and I went round the villa looking at the yard. Though it wasn't a large yard, it was just right. At the back was a swimming pool. There was a patio and glass doors that led the way back in the house. Now this was a villa indeed.

"This place is so cool," I said to Daniel.

"Tell me about it," he said. "Now I know where I'm coming for my last pool party."

"Come on inside," said D.O. "You haven't seen nothing yet."

"Tell me there's a gaming room," I said crossing my fingers.

D.O smiled at me. We followed him to the front door where we found the others had already gone in. Immediately Daniel and I stepped in through the front door and into the small foyer, our jaws dropped open.

Their living room was amazing. The grey white comfortable furniture and the shining white tiled floor made the place look so magnificent.

"Okay, I can get used to this place," I said as I took a look around.

"We even have a gym just here downstairs," said Sehun who remained in the living room area. "Let me show you."

Daniel and I with D.O behind us followed Sehun to the gym room and I had to admit, the room was pretty lit. I had no clue that this place might have a gym.

"You guys are really something," said Daniel as he and I looked around at the weights and other training equipment.

"We have to work out, you know?" said Sehun with a smile.

"To impress the ladies, I guess," I said giving him a smirk.

"To keep fit too. Come on, I'll show you the arcade room."

I couldn't help myself when Sehun said "arcade room." And so did Daniel.

We followed Sehun and D.O up the stairs to the arcade room. There were two arcade gaming machines in the room. It wasn't just an arcade room, they also kept comic books on the bookshelf. They were Marvel action comics. They even had some Marvel superhero action figures.

"I can totally enjoy this room," said Daniel as he got one of the comic books and flipped it open.

"Totally," I said as I took an Iron Man action figure in my hand on one of the shelves.

"Okay, we can go to the billiards room now," said D.O.

"You guys play billards?" Daniel asked as he put the comic book back in its place.

"Ya, we do."

"I usually play pool. But billiards is also kind of similar."

"Let's go check out the place," I said.

The four of us left the arcade room and went to the billiards room. The place was really spacious enough for the huge billiard table to fit in and to move around. There was a huge flat screen TV on the wall and on the other side of the room on the wall was a dartboard.

"Christine will love this," I said looking at the billard table.

"She can play pool too?" Sehun asked.

"Trust me, she has mad skills."

"Hey, guys," came Chanyeol as he walked in the room. "We're all waiting for you downstairs to start."

"Okay, let's go," said Daniel.

We went back downstairs and found everyone else.

"Okay, let's start," said Chanyeol as he clapped his hands together. "What are we the losing team going to do?"

I still had one of the shopping bags in my hand and removed what was in it.

"Ta-daaaaa!" I said showing what I held in my hand.

"Is that a costume?" Kai asked with a surprised look on his face.

"Yep," I said. "And there are other ones in the bags." I gave Chanyeol who was closet to me the costume. "There you go. Go dress up and then we can begin."

"You're kidding me, right?" Chanyeol asked as he looked at the costume.

"Do we look like we're kidding?" Lay asked.

"Okay, let's go change," said Kai as he got his costume from Chen who couldn't help but smile at him.

Sehun and Suho also got their costumes and went up while the rest of us waited for them in the living room.

Within a few minutes, the four who went up to change, soon came back down stairs in their costumes. I gave out a snicker when I saw them descend first.

"Well you guys look dashing," I said.

Lay and Daniel almost burst out laughing.

"Laugh all you want," said Suho. "You're so going to pay for this."

"We know," said D.O. "Say 'cheese!'"

D.O had pulled out his phone and took a picture of the four in front of him. He couldn't help but laugh.

"This is so ridiculous," said Kai as he looked at what he was wearing. "Who thought of getting these costumes?"

Chen, Daniel and Lay pointed their fingers at me. I only smirked.

"At least now I know what to get you for your birthday," said Sehun as he folded his arms and looked at me. He wore a purple costume that looked almost like a dinosaur.

"Hopefully you'll never force me to wear it," I said.

"Okay, we better get this show on the road before it gets too late," said Suho. "What do we have to do?"

"We're going to shoot a video," said Baekhyun, "out in the backyard."

"Don't tell me," said Chanyeol. "It's based on how to train your Pokemon, right?"

"That's what the costumes are for," said Lay. "And we're going to go live."

"Wait, film us live?" Sehun asked with a shocked look on his face.

"You heard right," said Xiumin. "It has to be in the most embarrassing way possible. The fans are going to love it."

"Oh gosh," said Kai as he covered his face. I had to admit, he looked amazing in a Pikachu costume.

"Don't worry, Kai," said Daniel. "Sam will be happy to see you as Pikachu. Remember, she was dressed like that last time."

"And she looked so adorable," said Chen with a smile.

"Too adorable," said Xiumin.

"Before I start daydreaming about Sam, can we go outside now and get this over with?" Chanyeol asked.

"Okay, Chanyeol. Since you're Ash, you will have to train your Pokemons to fight," said Lay.

"I can handle that," said Chanyeol. "Come on Pokemons, let's go."

"Seriously?" Suho asked.

"Who's wearing the Pokemon costume?" Chanyeol winked at his friends behind him.

"Okay, let's head out," I said.

Chanyeol was first at the door and we all followed behind him. We went to the backyard where the swimming pool was. Luckily, the backyard had landscape lights and they were all on. It gave us just enough light to film the video.

"Right, Ash, here is your Poke ball," said Daniel as he removed the ball from one of the bags he was holding and threw it at Chanyeol who caught it swiftly.

"Looks like you sorted out everything, huh?" Chanyeol asked as he looked at the ball. Daniel replied back with a smile. 

"I'll take the video," I said as I pulled out my phone. I checked to see if it had enough power for the whole filming. "Are you all ready?"

"No," said Sehun. "Look at me! I'm dressed like that orange dragon."

"And the wings look really cute on you," said Lay.

"I'll make sure to smoke you up in flames."

"In your dreams," Lay smirked as he rolled his eyes.

"Okay, rolling, people!" I announced as I turned my camera and focused it on the cast in front of me.

"Don't we get some guidelines on what to do?" Suho asked.

"I'm bad at directing," I answered. "So, do whatever you feel like doing. Just act silly for the camera, okay? And make it fun too."

"That's the whole point, isn't it?" Kai asked.

"Yes, Pikachu," said D.O, "it is."

"Chen and I will start with an introduction to the fans and explain what's going on before they get to act out," said Baekhyun.

"Great idea," I said giving Baekhyun a thumbs up. "You two come up front. The rest of you have to stay behind me and watch."

"I wish I had popcorn," said Daniel. "This is going to be fun."

"Don't act like you're watching the movie of the year," said Suho farrowing his eyebrows.

"Don't worry, it will be the flop of the year if you so wish," said Xiumin.

"Okay, you guys, let's start," I announced.

Chen and Baekhyun came in front of the camera lens and I gave them a signal with my fingers. I did a count down and soon we were rolling. And live for that matter, on Facebook.

"Hello, our dear amazing fans out there," said Baekhyun with a huge smile on his face.

"On this special evening," said Chen, "we have something fun for you all. Courtesy of Mike Glasson, of course. It's based on how to train your Pokemon."

I smirked and didn't say a word. I gave them a signal to skip to the point and let it be.

"Okay, so let the show begin," said Baekhyun. He and Chen soon went out of sight, snickering.

The spot where Chen and Baekhyun had stood was empty except from some bushes on the scene. Soon, Chanyeol appeared as Ash in front of the camera. He had the Poke ball in his hand and tossed it in the air and caught it.

"I am so in the mood for collecting Pokemons today," said Chanyeol, his voice sounding different. 

"Dude, what are you doing with your voice?" D.O who was behind me asked.

"What?" Chanyeol asked shrugging his shoulders. "I want to sound just like Ash Ketchum."

"Ash in no way sounds like that," said Daniel, who felt like laughing.

"Come on, I'm just getting into character."

"Just try to sound more like you," I said. I wanted to laugh so bad. "The voice you did just now was really ridiculous that I wanted to laugh so hard."

Immediately I said that, Baekhyun and Chen burst into a fit of laughter. Looks like they kept their laughter in for too long that it came out with full force. I looked to the side and I could see them laughing so hard with tears in their eyes. Chen even fell onto the grass.

"This is so embarrassing," said Chanyeol as he hit his forehead in frustration.

"The fans are loving this already," I said as I checked the number of people streaming this right now.

The others dressed as Pokemons who hid behind the bushes, couldn't help but laugh too. That would creep people out a little, considering that the bushes were moving and laughing.

Chanyeol threw a Poke ball at one of the bushes and I don't know how he managed to hit Kai on the head because he cried out in pain and he stood up from where he hid.

"Ouch," he said, holding his head and rubbing the spot on where the Poke ball had hit him. "What did you do that for?"

"You know I'm your master, Pikachu," said Chanyeol. "So you don't have to make fun of me."

"Oh, really?" Kai had his hands on his hips and he looked annoyed. This was great. The drama had already started.

"You're not supposed to talk so much as Pikachu, you know?" Chanyeol said.

"What do you want me to do? The 'Pika Pika' sounds he makes?" Kai asked. "No way."

"If you ask me, Pikachu does talk," said Suho from behind the bushes.

"Ya, he's voice is just squeaky and all," said Daniel.

"How do you even know Pikachu is a male?" Baekhyun asked.

"Pikachu is a male," I said. "I saw that once in some episode. And he clearly speaks too. So Kai, make your voice as squeaky as possible."

Kai glared at me and I could see through my phone camera that he wasn't liking it at all. But he soon gave in as he sighed in the end. It was a bet after all.

"Fine," he said as he rolled his eyes. Ladies were going to find him adorable. He turned to look at Chanyeol and his face changed completely.

"I'm sorry, Master Ash," he said in a cute squeaky voice, almost like Pikachu. "I won't do that again."

A huge roar of laughter came out behind me and I found myself laughing too that I almost dropped my phone. Kai was amazing. Not only was he rocking the Pikachu outfit. He sounded just like Pikachu.

I looked behind me and I saw Daniel and Lay laughing as they fell down on the grass. Chen went back down again and this time, he couldn't help it. D.O on the other hand even had to settle down on one of the beach chairs at the pool side to control himself. Baekhyun, Xiumin and I were the only ones standing, but laughing our lungs off anyway. Chanyeol couldn't help but laugh at his Pokemon apologise to him. Sehun and Suho despite being hidden were laughing too.

"Never mind, Pikachu," said Chanyeol. "Let's go for training. We have a battle ahead of us."

Pikachu, I mean, Kai, nodded his head and bent down to collect the Poke ball and joined his Master, Ash, or I can say Chanyeol. He obediently gave his master back the ball.

The training began and Ash made Pikachu do all kind of silly moves and Pikachu couldn't help but complain, giving his master a hard time too. The video was made to make people laugh and also to embarrass these guys as much as possible.

After a while, the other two Pokemons appeared around the bush.

"Look, Pikachu," said Ash. "Wild Pokemons."

Pikachu who was sitting on the grass, tired from all the training gave Ash an annoyed weird look. "Don't tell me you want to make them join us. They will suffer during training just like you're making me suffer."

I couldn't help but snicker and the others behind me did too. Pikachu was really upset that even his squeaky voice seemed on edge.

Ash playfully hit Pikachu at the back of the head. The Pokemon didn't take it lightly.

"What's your problem, Pikachu? If we want those Pokemons then we are going to get them and train them. Do you understand?"

Pikachu folded his arms and looked at the other Pokemons in front of him. "Fine," he said as he got up from the ground.

"Okay, I have a plan. You......"

Before Ash could finish, Pikachu quickly went up and approached the two Pokemons. I wondered what he was going to do.

"Hi," said Pikachu with his squeaky voice. "I just want to let you know that if you try and tear me apart before you listen to what I have to say, I'll reap you to shreds."

"Pikachu, what are you doing?" Ash asked.

"I'm talking here." Pikachu looked at Ash then back at the other Pokemons. "Do we have a deal?"

The other two Pokemons looked at each other, then back at Pikachu.

"What is it?" Sehun asked.

"Okay, my master wants to make you his Pokemons. He's a good guy so you don't have to worry. Since you're wild Pokemons, it will be nice to be domesticated and under control. Trust me, it's worth it."

"Really? We've been watching you train and you don't seem to be enjoying yourself," said Suho.

"Trust me, it gets tiring everyday. But are you going to join us or what? Because I am so not ready to fight you at all and you don't seem to be in the mood to fight either."

"Ya, true," said Suho. "I am so lazy anyway."

"What the-" Ash came over to them and he couldn't believe what was happening. "You're supposed to be wild Pokemons and out of control."

"We're," said Sehun. Sehun gave out a little roar. "See? We're wild."

I really wanted to beat my forehead just like Ash did seconds ago. But I had to admit, it was really interesting how all of this was going. The others behind me couldn't help but laugh.

"That's not being wild, that's being lazy," said Ash.

"Okay, are we going to be your Pokemons or not?" Suho asked.

"Fine. Welcome to the team. Let's start training. Maybe now you won't be lazy anymore."

The Pokemons soon went on with training and it was hilarious. Sometimes they would do silly moves and end up hitting each other in the process.

"I'm so tired," Pikachu complained.

"You only did a few moves," said Ash.

"I'm tired too," said Sehun.

"No. You all have to continue training."

"I am so going to zap you with lightening, you know?" Pikachu warned Ash.

"Oh, ya? I would love to see you try."

Pikachu and the other two Pokemons, slowly started to approach Ash on all corners. Ash started to back away a little, knowing what was going to happen next.

"Get him!" Sehun cried out and Ash made a run for his life.

Ash ran round the bushes and the Pokemons followed. I continued to film the whole thing. When the Pokemons ever got the chance to, they would manage to kick their master. It was hilarious. Pikachu had caught up to him and jumped on his back dragging him to the ground. The Pokemons all fake punched and kicked him. Ash still managed to get away and the Pokemons still followed.

Chanyeol ran over to the pool side and I as the camera man followed them with the others. Suho came really fast behind Chanyeol and pushed him into the pool.

I laughed. The others gasped. This was great. Chanyeol resurfaced in the water and he looked as shocked as everyone else.

"Why did you do that for?" Chanyeol asked as he shook out the water in his hair.

"Ha! Take that, Ash," said Suho, as he laughed.

All of the sudden, Suho also found himself taking a dive into the pool. For a moment, I thought he had just gone in willingly. But it turns out Sehun had pushed him from behind.

Sehun couldn't help but cheer. He wasn't aware that Kai was coming up right behind him.

"Sehun, look out!" Lay called out to him. The rest of us were on the other side of the pool watching the whole thing.

Sehun looked behind him and saw Kai with his arms outstretched and ready to push Sehun into the pool. Sehun quickly held Kai's arms and tried all he could to push him into the pool. But Kai looked a whole lot stronger and struggled to get away from Sehun's grip.

"Well, I never expected a finale like this," said Xiumin.

"Who do you think is going to drop in the pool?" Chen asked.

"Kai," said D.O.

"I think Sehun is going to drop in the pool," said Lay.

"I'm going for Kai," said Baekhyun.

"Me too," I said. "Who are you going for, Daniel?"

I never got a reply. I looked to my right and there was Lay and D.O. I looked to my left and there was Baekhyun and Chen. That was strange. Where was Daniel?

"Hey? Has anyone seen Daniel anywhere?" I asked.

"He was here a second ago," said Chen looking beside him.

While Kai and Sehun were busy struggling to push the other into the pool, the others looked around for Daniel. I still had my phone in hand and looking for my brother, when I noticed a shadow on my phone. I fully went back to looking at the screen and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Before I could say anything, Kai and Sehun were both diving into the pool. And the others saw what happened just in time.

Daniel was laughing his lungs out, pointing his finger at Kai and Sehun. He was the one who had pushed them into the pool. What a turn around this has been.

"Daniel!" Kai called out to him as he splashed water at Daniel, but missing the target as Daniel took a step back from the pool.

"You little rascal," said Baekhyun, as he shook his head at Daniel.

"At least you did me a favour," said Chanyeol. "I wouldn't have done it better than you did."

"Ya, I know," said Daniel with a huge smile on his face.

I laughed. Daniel was full of surprises sometimes. And I say this on a personal point of view. Even the other Toxins would agree with me. There are times when you're playing a game with him and you think you're going to win and he ends up doing something that blows you away completely and you end up losing the game.

But in this one, he wasn't even in the bet because he didn't bet on any team. I'm glad he had the last laugh in the end instead of us on the winning side.

"Okay, guys," I said as I turned the phone around so that the fans could see my face. "This marks the end of our little show. See ya."

I quickly cut the video and put my phone away.

"Okay, now that that is over, can you guys get out of the pool before you catch a cold?" Chen suggested.

"Ya, you're right," said Suho. "I really need to change."

"I'm so hungry," said Daniel.

"Me too," said Baekhyun, "let's go to the kitchen."

"Ya, let's do that." Daniel ran over to the other side of the pool and joined Baekhyun. The both of them went in the house together.

"I think I'll go join them," I suggested.

"Oh, no, you don't, Mike," said Sehun as he got out of the pool. "You're not going anywhere."

"Why?" I asked as I shrugged my shoulders.

Sehun started his way towards me and something told me he was out for my life. I slowly started to back away.

"Whoa, Sehun, I know you're mad," I said, raising my hands. "All this was nothing but a bet. And Daniel was the one who pushed you into the pool, not me."

"Oh, I'm not mad," he said as he continued to approach me. "I just want to give you a hug." He even smiled at me with his arms outstretched and his costume dripping wet.

"You giving me a hug? But you're so wet." I realised what he was up to. "You don't want to give me a hug me. You want to throw me into the pool."

"No, I don't." He suddenly came towards me fast.

I quickly turned around and ran back to the house. The others encouraged me to keep running. Except Kai, Suho and Chanyeol who encouraged Sehun to catch me.

Sehun wasn't going to catch me that easily. And I made sure of it when I got in the through the front door and locked it.


	19. Chapter 18: Cream Coloured Doughnuts ....And B.A.P

Sam's P.O.V

Zoey was so lucky I was in such a good mood tonight. If I wanted I would have refused to escort her out here late at night and I would have gone straight to bed.

I was standing outside the donut shop looking down the street with Christine by my side and the car we drove in waited for us across the street. Zoey had gone in the store and we were waiting for her.

"Tell me why we're here again?" Christine asked as she looked down the street and then at me.

"Zoey is craving for something sweet and thought of getting donuts," I answered as I playfully rolled my eyes.

After watching the movie with Lee and Collins (which was a great movie, by the way), Zoey decided to go and buy donuts. I thought it was silly of us to go out and buy them when we could easily just place an order and have it delivered up to the hotel. But no, she didn't want that. She wanted to drive through the city at this late hour and buy donuts. She couldn't go alone and Collins wasn't going to let her. So, that's how Christine and I were here, standing outside the donut shop.

We were so lucky to have found this place open at this hour. It was already 11 PM and most stores were closed in most parts of town. We almost gave up looking until we came across the one we were at right now. The owner was just about to close up when Zoey went in to the store.

I looked through the glass of the front door to check what was taking her so long. I noticed two large paper boxes on the counter. I just hope she wasn't going to end up carrying twenty of those.

I felt my phone beep in my pocket. I had been receiving too many notifications lately concerning EXO and my brothers on Twitter and Instagram. What ever was going on with them, now wasn't the time to know. I would leave all the story telling to them in the morning.

Christine was giggling over her phone. She was texting someone. Who could she be chatting with that she was even blushing so much? Could it be Jinwoo?

I couldn't help but smile. Those two looked so cute together. I hadn't told Christine what I felt about them. Maybe it was best not to say anything, considering that there were things not worth talking about.

I had quickly pulled out my phone from my phone when the door to the store flew open and Zoey appeared.

"What's up?" I asked her.

"I need your help with the boxes," she answered.

I quickly looked through the glass and I noticed three boxes waiting on the counter. Luckily, they weren't twenty.

"What would you need all those boxes for?" Christine asked when she saw them.

"You know I'm a sweet tooth. Come on, we better get going."

"Looks like someone is about to stay up all night because of too much sugar," I said as we followed Zoey into the store.

"I'm not going to eat all of these alone, you know?" Zoey looked at us when she got to the counter first and got one box.

Just as I was about to pick up a box to carry, my phone started ringing. I was still holding it in my hand. I forgot about the box for a minute and picked the call, taking a few steps away from the counter. It was Daniel.

"Hey, how's your night so far?" I asked. For a minute there, I thought I sounded like mum.

"Oh, it's awesome," said Daniel. He sounded so thrilled and excited. I wondered what the guys were up to.

"Okay, then if you're having so much fun, why did you call?"

"Oh, I just wanted to let you know that Mike is in really big trouble."

I smiled. I knew it wasn't serious. Must be about the bet he placed and he obviously won and whatever he made the losing side do, must have made him run for his life.

"Let me guess, he is running around right now as we speak," I said when Zoey came to lean in closer to hear the conversation.

"Ya, he is." I heard a crunchy noise at the other end of the line. Was Daniel eating something?

"Are you eating something right now?" I asked.

"Oh, ya," said Daniel with his mouth sounding so full. "I'm in the kitchen with Baekhyun eating Crunchies. They have a whole load of snacks and drinks in the fridge."

"No doubt you're enjoying it," I gave Zoey a sign to carry on with the boxes with Christine and that I would find them outside. Zoey frowned. She obviously wanted to hear the whole conversation.

"Yep." I heard running feet in a distance. "Oh, and Baekhyun is saying hi."

"Tell him I'm saying hi too. Is that Mike I hear running?"

"Ya. Sehun has just gone in through the back door and is chasing Mike in the living room."

I shook my head. "Well, your game better be over soon because you have to get back to the hotel. We still have practise tomorrow."

"We know....." Daniel paused for a minute as I heard Mike and Sehun in the background and other voices. "I have to go, Mike has just run upstairs. We'll see you back at the hotel."

"Okay, I'll be waiting."

I cut the call and I soon realised that Zoey and Christine had already left the store. I looked over at the box of donuts left on the counter that I had to carry and the owner of the store stood behind the counter with a smile on his face.

"Sorry, I must have taken up much of your time," I said as I put my phone away in my pocket and carried the box in my hands.

"There is no need to be sorry," said the owner. "You haven't taken much of my time, really. It's not all the time you get to have celebrities in your store."

I smiled. "Alright. I'll be leaving then. Thank you for giving Zoey the time to buy donuts since you were just about to close up."

"It's my pleasure. Always happy to attend to any customer."

I gave him a small bow and I turned around to leave the store. Just as I was about to head out through the door, someone stepped in before I could even get the chance to go out. We even almost bumped into each other.

"Oh, sorry," I said.

"It's nothing, it's not like you bumped into me."

When I looked at the person closely in the face, I couldn't help but feel that I knew who he was.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked him.

He looked at me and our eyes met. It could also show in his eyes that he recognised me.

Before we could both utter a word to each other, the door behind him flew open, hitting him on the back and that made him take a few steps forward. He bumped into me and we both fell to the floor together, the boxes of donuts falling beside me and some of the donuts spilled out of the box.

"Oh my goodness!" Zoey came into the store. "I am so sorry!"

"You're so clumsy when you get excited, Zoey," said Christine who had also come into the store. "Now look at what you have done."

I had to give Zoey a scolding for this. But for now, I couldn't even move.

Not with Bang Yongguk on top of me.

The two of us looked at each other. To be honest, I never expected such a surprise. I couldn't help but blush. HE was on top of ME! I really wanted to scream like any fangirl would do if she were to bump into her favourite idol like I have now.

Yongguk couldn't help but blush as he looked down at me. I bet he didn't expect to meet me like this either.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he slowly got up and he held out his hand to me. I quickly took it and we both got up from the floor together.

"You don't need to apologise," I said. I could still feel myself blushing.

Zoey gasped as she had a clear look at Yongguk. She had a look of wonder and excitement in her eyes like she had just met an angel.

"I knew it was you when I saw you walking across the street," she said with her hands on her chest. "I was even ready to follow you wherever you went."

"Trust me, she would," said Christine when Yongguk gave Zoey a questioning look. "Luckily you came into this store or else I would have run after her if you went far."

"I am so sorry," said Zoey as she winced. "I hope I didn't hurt you. Is your back okay?"

"I'm fine, Zoey," said Yongguk as he put up a smile. "Thanks."

"He knows my name." Zoey was flying high right now. Someone had to bring her back down to earth.

"Goodness," I said as I looked down at the floor. "Look what you did, Zoey. Now your donuts are all over the floor."

"Mmmm," Zoey turned to look at me. It could clearly show that she was trying to recover from her daydream.  
I rolled my eyes at her as I went down to pick up the donuts that had fallen out of the box.

"Let me handle that, dear," said the owner of the store as he came around the counter with a broom and a little black waste bin to put the donuts in.

I didn't listen though and I was picking some of the donuts on the floor. Yongguk also bent down to help me out and at some point, he and I bumped heads.

"Ouch!" we both exclaimed as we stood upright up from the floor again. This time, holding our heads.

"Are you alright, Yongguk?" Zoey asked.

I clearly rolled my eyes at Zoey. She was more concerned about Yongguk than she was about me. Anyway, I couldn't blame her.

"I'm fine," he answered. He turned to look at me as I held my forehead. "Are you okay?"

"Ya, I'm good," I answered. My head didn't really hurt at all.

When the owner of the store came toward us, I threw the donuts I had picked up from the floor into the bin.

"You don't have to help me clean up, dear," said the store owner.

"I just have to," I answered. "Zoey might be the one at fault but she clearly won't clean up her own mess."

"Hey!" Zoey looked offended.

"Would you need some more donuts?" the owner asked Zoey.

Zoey picked up the box on the floor and lifted the lid. There were still enough donuts inside. "No thanks. I really wouldn't like to trouble you further. That's just how nice I am."

I finished picking up the rest of the donuts on the floor and dropped them into the waste bin.

"Okay," I said. "All done."

"You really shouldn't have helped," said the store owner.

"It's nothing, really. We created the mess, not you." I could feel Yongguk looking at me and I tried my best not to look at him. 

"I'm really sorry about that," said Zoey.

"It's fine," said the store owner.

"We better get going," said Christine.

"No, wait a minute," said Zoey. "I mean, we just met Bang Yongguk. Doesn't that matter to you, girls? Because it sure does to me."

Christine and I looked at Zoey. She was right though. No one ever expected this to happen. But we were running late and we had to be back at the hotel or who knows what Collins would do if we don't get there on time.

"Ya, you're right," said Christine. "So, what brings you here at this late hour, if you don't mind us asking."

"And why are you here all alone?" Zoey asked. "Didn't you bring the rest of B.A.P with you?"

"Too many questions, don't you think?" I asked the two Toxins with my eyebrow raised.

"We just want to know." Zoey gave me a shrug and she soon went back to looking at Yongguk.

"Just like you ladies, I also came to buy some donuts," he answered.

"Point of correction, they are Zoey's donuts, not ours," I said.

"True," said Christine.

"Well, I'm also just getting donuts for the others," said Yongguk.

"Wait, are the rest here with you?" Zoey asked. She looked like she would jump up to the roof if she got the answer she needed.

"Yes," he answered with a slight smile.

Zoey clapped her hands in delight. "Where are they? I would really like to meet them."

Before Zoey could turn around to head out through the door, the door flew open. For a moment there was a pause and everyone in the store seemed to have stood still with time.

"Hey, what's taking you so long, hyung(형)?" came a voice at the door that seemed awfully familiar.

Zoey and Christine turned around. As for Yongguk and I, we had already seen who had walked in to the store.

"Oh my gosh," said Daehyun when he saw the three of us, Toxins.

Zoey almost let out an ear splitting scream but I covered her mouth just in time. She even dropped the box of donuts in her hands and it fell to the floor. Luckily, none of them had gone out of the box this time around. The store owner quickly picked up the box from the floor.

"I feel like I can't breathe right now," said Christine as she waved a hand across her face, fanning for air.

Daehyun continued to look at us with his mouth agape. And soon enough, the door to the store again flew open and this time, Zelo was the one who stepped in.

"Hey, what's going on in....oh my gosh, it's The Toxins!" Zelo exclaimed immediately he saw us.

"Zelo!" Christine and I exclaimed at the same time. I still held Zoey's mouth shut. I could tell how much she wanted to scream as she tried to remove my hand.

"I think I'm going to faint," said Daehyun.

"You're not the only one," said Christine. "I'm such a huge fan of you guys!"

"I'm a huge fan of you guys too!" said Zelo.

"Don't forget me," said Daehyun.

Zoey kept on clawing at my hand and I knew I had to let go at some point.

"Promise me you won't scream your lungs out if I uncover your mouth?" I said as I looked at Zoey.

Zoey looked at me and nodded quickly. Hopefully, she wouldn't go back on her word.

As soon as I set her mouth free, Zoey squealed in delight. I blew out an air of relief. Thank goodness it wasn't a scream.

She even went on to hug both Daehyun and Zelo.

"This night couldn't be more awesome!" Zoey exclaimed after hugging the two.

"I bet the boys' night is way better than ours," I said with a smirk.

"Ssh! You're ruining the moment." Zoey didn't look at me when she said this.

Daehyun came over to hug me. I blushed. I didn't expect it.

Zelo and Christine hugged each other with laughs as if they were best friends and had known each other for a long time.

"It's so nice to finally meet you in person," said Daehyun after hugging me.

"Me too," I said.

"Move over," said Zelo as he came to push Daehyun aside. "I want to hug Sam too."

"Awww," I blushed as I hugged Zelo. To be honest, I always had a thing for maknaes (막내). I almost considered them my favourites, even if a maknae like Zelo was way taller than me.

"You're one of my favourites amongst The Toxins," said Zelo.

"Coming from you, it's so sweet," I said as I blushed. I couldn't hide my blushing in front of him.

"Wait, where are the other two?" Zoey asked. "Why aren't they here?"

"We left them in the car," Daehyun answered.

"Well, bring them here. I really want to see them."

"Here they come now," said the store owner as he looked out through the glass doors and saw who were coming in.

The door flew open and Himchan, Youngjae and Jongup entered the store. They stopped upon seeing what was in front of them.

"I can't believe it's really you," said Christine excitedly.

Jongup had his mouth slightly ajar when Christine came to hug him first. He looked like he was going to take some time for him to finally from this.

Zoey jumped and clapped at first before hugging Himchan. Just like Jongup, Himchan found it a bit of a surprise until he finally hugged her back.

"Hi, Youngjae," I said as I went up to hug him. He hugged me back and he couldn't help but laugh a little. I could tell he was excited.

"So this is what kept you here for so long, hyung," said Youngjae addressing Yongguk after he broke away from the hug. "You were caught up with these lovely ladies."

I noticed Yongguk roll his eyes but smile at the same time. I noticed him blush too and I myself couldn't help but smile a little.

"Is this really happening right now?" Jongup asked. "I feel like I am dreaming."

"You're always dreaming," mocked Himchan.

"Believe it or not, Jongup, we're real," said Zoey. She even went to hug him.

"Okay, I'm not dreaming," said Jongup with a smile on his face.

"This is so cool meeting The Toxins like this," said Zelo with a smile. "This moment needs to be captured with a selfie."

"Great idea," said Christine.

"Do we really have to start taking selfies now?" Yongguk asked. "It's pretty late and these ladies need to get back."

"Yongguk's right," I said. "It's late and we really need to go or else our manager will get furious."

"Come on, Sam," Zoey whined. "It's just a selfie. Just one." She pointed up her index finger.

"When we get one, we will get a hundred more," said Yongguk.

"That's true," I said.

"You two are such party poopers," said Zoey shaking her head.

"They deserve to be together, don't you think?" Himchan suggested. "It's like they have a lot in common."

"No, we don't," Yongguk and I answered at the same time. We ended up looking at each other.

"Something tells us you do," said Daehyun.

"If they are meant to be together, then how will I end up with Sam?" Zelo asked. "You all know I like her a lot."

Christine and Zoey giggled. I couldn't help but blush. The other B.A.P members apart from Yongguk started to laugh. Himchan even ruffled Zelo's hair.

"Can we please just take the selfie?" I asked.

"Okay, everyone gather round," said Zelo. "I'll be taking this one."

"Make sure it's just one," said Yongguk.

"You worry too much," said Zelo, as he rolled his eyes and he already had his phone in his hand.

"We're wasting time, the store owner needs to close up," said Daehyun.

The nine of us all gathered round to take the photo with Zelo raising his phone a little higher because he was too tall.

We all put up smiling faces at the camera and Zelo took the photo.

"One more," said Zoey.

"Zoey, no," I said. "We have to go."

"Come on, Sam," begged Jongup. "Just one more."

We gathered round for one more but the more we took....well, you know the rest.

We even took a photo with each of us ready to put a doughnut in our mouths.


	20. Chapter 19: As Red As RedVelvet

"You should have seen the looks on their faces when I pushed Kai and Sehun into the pool," said Daniel with a smile on his face.

"And then Sehun got mad at me," said Mike after chewing his food. "Then he started chasing me around."

"That I already know," I said as I lifted my cup of coffee to my lips. "What I don't understand still is why you made them play out a Pokemon scene. A rather funny one for that matter. Taking pictures of them in their costumes felt more than enough to embarrass them."

"Nah!" Mike shook his head. I sat opposite him on the dining table. "If you've noticed, when these guys wear costumes, they look so cute their fans wouldn't mind. So, I wanted them to give out a little play."

"Well, that worked," said Zoey who sat next to Mike. "They looked cute but better yet, you embarrassed them. I had to admit, that was good."

"Thank you." Mike gave a smile.

"This is why I never want to bet with you on anything," said Christine who sat next to me on my left.

"Ya, I'm a definition of pure evil," said Mike as he gave out a smirk.

"That, I totally agree," said Zoey.

"Well, that was some story," said Collins who sat at the head of the table. For a moment, it didn't seem like he was listening because he was looking at his tablet and seemed to be minding his own business. But looks like he really was listening.

"Mike's still not done yet," said Lee who sat on my right. "He still has to tell us if Sehun got him or not."

"Oh, ya!" Zoey slowly nodded her head as she looked at Mike. "Did he get you?"

Mike looked at every one of us at the table. We all looked back at him, including Collins, waiting for his reply.

"I didn't get away," Mike answered. "He got me trapped in the gaming room. There was no escaping him from there."

"Wait, they have a gaming room?" I asked.

"Ya, it's almost like an arcade in there," said Daniel. "They even have Marvel comics too."

"Wow, so cool," said Christine.

"I should go there sometime," said Zoey.

"Me too," I said.

"And don't forget me," said Christine.

"Well, that's going to be a problem," said Collins who went on to looking at his tablet.

"Oh, gosh," Zoey murmured as she covered her eyes and shook her head. "When Collins says that, something good isn't going to come out of his mouth."

Lee almost laughed. "That's true," she said.

"That isn't always the case," said Collins as he looked at Zoey.

"Okay," Zoey looked at Collins as though she was ready to throw a challenge at him. "When has there ever been a time when you first say that sentence and later on bring us good news?"

"That's what I'm about to do now. I'm bringing you good news."

"It doesn't sound like it," said Daniel.

"See, even Daniel thinks the same," said Zoey.

"Well, maybe it's because you guys won't be able to find time since BTW will soon have to start working on their new single."

"Oh, I forgot about that," Zoey went on to hit her forehead.

"I put that as a good and a bad thing," I said. "On one hand we have BTW which will be fun, but we won't have time to visit EXO's villa or do anything else for that matter."

"Glad you put that in plain English so that Zoey can understand," said Collins.

"I understood you from the very start, Collins," said Zoey almost looking hurt in her eyes.

Collins smiled. "I know you did. Okay, finish up everyone. As you all know, we have a long day ahead."

We were soon done with our breakfast and we stood up from the table. The rest of us Toxins were prepared to carry our training bags waiting at the elevator until Collins stopped us.

"Wait, hold on a second guys," came Collins. We all turned to look at him behind us. His eyes were fixed on his tablet.

"What's up?" Mike asked.

"Don't tell me that BTW has been terminated," said Zoey. "Or else I am definitely going to kill someone today."

"You would?" Lee turned to look at Zoey with a surprised look on her face.

"I would kill the one who would have the guts to spoil our BTW dream."

"There will be no killing of anyone," said Collins. "And no, Zoey, BTW isn't terminated."

Zoey wiped her brow with relief. "Then what's going on?" I asked.

"Well, Yang Hyun-suk has suggested you guys take the day off."

"For real?" the four of us Toxins asked.

"For real. You guys have worked so hard these past few days even on the weekend when you were supposed to be resting. Training will resume tomorrow on Wednesday."

"And then the launch of our single with BigBang and BTW will be released on Friday?" Christine asked.

"That's what the schedule says, doesn't it?" Collins shrugged his shoulder. "You guys can now do whatever you want. If you need me, I'll be in my room making a few phone calls."

Mike and Daniel dropped their bags onto the carpet floor at the same time looking relieved.

"Are you up for Call of Duty?" Mike asked looking at his brother.

"Totally," Daniel answered.

Just as the two brothers were about to take a step towards the living room, Zoey stopped them as she stood in their way.

"Wait, guys, hold on," she said raising her hand to stop them with her phone in the other. "I'm afraid you will have to do your line of duty another day."

Christine and I almost burst out laughing but held it in. Zoey looked at the both of us.

"What so funny?" Zoey asked.

"You said 'duty'," said Christine.

"Seriously?" said Zoey. "These guys were just from saying that a second ago and you never said anything."

"When you say it, it sounds funny," I said.

"Grow up." Zoey rolled her eyes at us.

"Looks like someone is behaving mature," said Collins as he quickly turned around and headed for his room.

Zoey was about to say something to him but she was out of words. Before we knew it, Collins had shut the door to his room behind him and Zoey still hadn't uttered a word even with her mouth open. I saw Lee smiling beside me. Collins always knew how to leave Zoey speechless and confused. And it never took him much effort to do it.

"Never mind," Zoey muttered as she looked at the two brothers again. "As I was saying, you two can't go on and play your video game."

"And why not?" Daniel asked with his arms folded.

"Since we have a free day, BigBang just texted me that we should go over to their place."

"Oh, really?" Mike looked brightened up by the news. "I think we should go."

"Ya, Taeyang thinks we haven't gotten to hang out for a while as The Toxins and BigBang."

"That's a great idea," said Lee. "You guys go ahead. You won't need me around to babysit you. As much as it's your day off, it's mine as well. Just make sure you behave."

"Then what are you going to do?" I asked Lee.

"I am going to the spa. These past few days have been hectic running up and down for your launch on Friday. I truly deserve this day off."

Lee made her way to the elevator and pressed the button to summon it. As soon as she stepped in when the doors opened, she turned to look at us.

"You guys better book another car or something," she said. "I'll be using the one waiting outside if you don't mind."

"But Lee.....," Zoey started to say but the doors closed in front of us.

"Great! What are we going to use now?" Christine asked.

"Why don't we ask them to come pick us up?" Daniel asked.

"BigBang? I hope they won't refuse," I said as I pulled out my phone.

"Since you're the one who's asking, they will definitely not," said Zoey.

I rolled my eyes at Zoey when I put my phone to my ear. The line on the other end was ringing.

"My gorgeous princess," said Seungri when he picked up the call. "I assume you're all coming here to our dorm?"

"Ya, about that....." I said but then Seungri interrupted me.

"You changed your mind? Please don't tell me you changed your mind because we really need you guys here," said Seungri in a hurry.

"Wait a minute, hold on!" I said. "I never said that." The Toxins looked on at me wondering what was going on.

"But you were going to."

"No, I wasn't. I wanted to say we're coming over but we have a problem."

There was silence at his end and I knew he was obviously feeling embarrassed.

He cleared his throat. "What could be the problem, my little kitty?"

"Well, Lee took the car and none of us want to bother Collins about booking another one. And we obviously can't use public transport as you already know."

"Okay, I get it. I'm going to send a car to pick you guys up in a few minutes. Sounds okay?"

I smiled. "Thanks, Seungri."

"You're welcome, my panda."

I cut the line. "Let's wait for a few minutes. Seungri will send a car for us."

"Let's go wait in the lounge," said Christine.

Just as the five of us were heading there, we heard the elevator behind us. Could Lee be back? And so soon? We all stopped in our tracks and turned around towards the elevator.

"Hey guys!" came Seunghoon as he stepped out of the elevator.

Before I could even have time to react, Seunghoon came over to hug me first. Why wouldn't he? I was his bias after all.

"Hi, everyone," Mino followed as he stepped out of the elevator with Seungyoon and Jinwoo.

"Hey," said Zoey, sounding a little surprised herself.

"What's with the look on all your faces?" Seungyoon asked. "You look like you're not at all happy to see us."

"We do?" Christine asked with her cheeks blushing.

Seunghoon looked at me after our hug and all I could do was put a smile on my face.

"Ya, something is definitely up with you guys," said Seunghoon. "You're usually happy to see us. What's wrong today?"

"Nothing is wrong," I replied. "It's just that we weren't really expecting you here."

"Who were you expecting? The President?" Mino asked with a mocking grin on his face.

"Umm, no," said Zoey.

"Then who were you expecting?" Jinwoo asked. "Immediately our manager told us we won't be meeting for practice, we turned the car around to come and hang out with you guys."

"Wow, really?" Mike asked.

"You five are the most awesome people we know of to hang out with," said Seungyoon.

"We're so awesome," Daniel said to Mike with a smile on his face. Mike smiled back.

"So, what were planning to do on your free day?" Mino asked.

"Apparently....," I started. I didn't know how I was going to break it to them that we had somewhere else to go. "We were planning to go somewhere."

"Really? Where?" Seunghoon asked.

Before I could say anything, the land line in the lounge started ringing. I had a feeling that our ride was finally here.

"I'll get it!" Zoey said as she ran over to answer the line.

"So, where are we going?" Jinwoo asked.

"Where are 'we' going, like The Toxins and WINNER or just us Toxins?" Christine asked.

"The Toxins and WINNER, who else?"

"Our ride is here," Zoey announced after taking the call.

"Great," said Seunghoon. "We better start going."

"What a minute," I stopped him before he could turn around and head to the elevator. "You don't even know where we're going."

"Wherever you go, we will follow," said Seungyoon.

I wanted to slap my head. This was going to be a problem. How was I going to tell them we had to meet BigBang? One thing's for sure, they weren't invited.

"Okay, before you start running around like a lunatic, let me tell you where we are going first."

"Okay," said Seunghoon with a smile on his face.

I paused for a second, just looking at him. "We're going to meet BigBang at their dorm."

"Cool," said Jinwoo. "We'll come with you."

"Ah," Zoey scratched her head. She saw this to be difficult as well. "Well, the thing is, BigBang only invited us over. We aren't sure you coming with us will be appropriate."

There was silence for a while as the four group members of WINNER looked at each one of us Toxins.

"And you plan on going without us?" Mino asked. "We are still coming with you."

"Really?" Daniel asked. Daniel looked at me with a terrified look on his face. I know what that face meant: "Sam, stop this madness!"

"It won't hurt going to BigBang's dorm, will it?" Seunghoon asked. "It's going to be so much fun."

"I don't think it's a good idea," said Christine. "For a fact that someone will not be happy that you're coming over to the dorm."

"Who? Our manager?" Jinwoo asked.

"No, G-Dragon," Zoey answered.

Mino almost laughed but smiled instead. "No way," he said. "He won't get mad at us that he will chase us away."

I didn't know whether to get terrified or feel sorry for these guys. Because knowing G-Dragon well, he wouldn't like them coming over. Not when he and the rest of BigBang wanted one group over and not two.

"Why don't we hang out another time?" Mike asked. "There is always a next time."

"As much as we would yes, we're going to say no," said Seunghoon. "We're coming with you."

I shook my head. "We're already wasting time, so let's all just go."

The four members of WINNER cheered "yes!" while the other four Toxins looked at me with shocked looks on their faces.

"GD is going to be so mad at you for this," said Daniel.

"No, he won't," said Seunghoon. "She has me around to protect her."

"Okay, let's go, before I get a call from Seungri because he is worried that we aren't there yet," I said.

"This is going to be so much fun," said Seungyoon.

"That's if you won't get G-Dragon angry," said Zoey.

As I started heading to the elevator with the others behind me, I prayed that BigBang weren't going to be mad at us for bringing in a third party, especially G-Dragon.

We all got in the elevator and soon found ourselves in the lobby. We went out of the hotel where we found the black SUV Seungri had hired waiting for us. WINNER got into the car that they came in.

Just as we the Toxins got in the car, I turned to the others.

"Guys, what are we going to do?" I asked.

"Don't look at us, you told them to follow," said Zoey who sat beside me.

"And you think you telling them not to come was working out very well?" I gave Zoey a look.

"Okay, Sam has a point," said Christine in the seat behind us. "You saw how persistent they were. They were just going to cause trouble for us and that would have led to us getting in trouble with Collins."

"Should we tell BigBang that we might bring ourselves some company?" Zoey asked as she nervously bit her lip.

"Not 'might' but 'will.' Someone won't be happy seeing them there," said Sam.

"GD just has to suck it in," said Mike. "There's nothing we can do."

I turned to the chauffeur in the driver's seat and told him to start the car and take us to where we were supposed to go. The chauffeur happily obliged and started the engine. Our car made it's way out of the premises and the other car followed behind us.

Zoey was tapping away on her phone trying to send the message. I noticed that the message seemed quite long for my liking.

"Are you writing a message telling them we are coming with company or a long apology?" I asked her.

"I don't know what to write," said Zoey as she scratched her head.

"Really?" Christine asked. "So what have you been doing this whole time?"

"Deleting and typing and doing so all over again."

Mike slapped his face. "Are you serious?" he asked. "We're running out of time."

"It's best we give them a heads up," said Daniel.

Before Zoey could say anything, I snatched her phone and typed what I had to type as quickly as I could.

"You could have just asked for it not snatch it," said Zoey.

"I learnt that from you," I said as I typed the last words on the phone and pressed the send button.

"You know, you should have texted on your phone. Maybe they wouldn't get so mad if the explanation is coming from you."

"And how sure are you they aren't going to get mad still if I texted on my phone?"

"We are just going to have to burn today," said Mike. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"Ji Yong will get upset," said Daniel. "As much as WINNER are like brothers to them, it simply won't be the same when they invited us and not them."

"They will just have to deal with it," said Christine. "Let's see if Sam will be able to work her charms."

"Charms? I'm not a shaman, you know?" I asked.

"We have complete faith in you that you will make things right," said Mike.

I shook my head at them. They really had blind faith in me for sure.

In a matter of minutes, we were packed right outside the apartment building of BigBang's dorm. We quickly stepped out of the vehicle and WINNER also did the same behind us.

"This is going to be interesting," I muttered to The Toxins as WINNER approached us.

"I'm so not ready for this," said Zoey as she shook her head.

I quickly went up the short flight of stairs up to the glass entrance doors of the building. The others followed behind. I was in the lobby and the lovely lady receptionist looked up at me with a smile as I approached the front desk.

"Samantha," she said. "BigBang is waiting for you and the others upstairs."

"Thank you," I said. I wanted to ask if it was okay if we bought up extra people. But that would be dumb.

I headed towards the elevator and the others. There were two lifts.

"We all can't fit in the elevator," I said as I turned towards the crowd behind me. "Apartment elevators tend to be really small and we all know what happened last time."

"What happened last time?" Jinwoo asked.

"Oh, we got all cramped up in the elevator with BigBang and it was so small," said Daniel.

"We wouldn't like to experience that again," said Christine. "I felt like dying in there."

"We can use the other elevator," said Seungyoon.

"Do you know the floor number?" I asked.

"Yep," said Mino. "We've been here before."

"Cool, we will see you at the top."

I nodded my head and quickly pressed the elevator to my side and Seunghoon pressed the button to elevator on his side.

The elevator on my side responded first and the five of us Toxins went in. The door slowly closed behind us.

"Any reply on your phone yet?" I asked Zoey.

"Taeyang hasn't replied," said Zoey as she looked at her phone.

"Well, this is going to be a bummer," said Christine.

"If we can get to them before WINNER, we can try and make the most of it," said Daniel.

The doors flew open and the five of us immediately rushed out into the hall and heading for BigBang's apartment. When we got to the door, we hurriedly knocked on the door at the same time. For a moment, you could think a giant was knocking on it.

The door flew open and Daesung stood there with a bright smile on his face. He wore a red suit. I for one turned to look down the hall and at the elevator monitor. WINNER were just two floors away from coming here.

"Hey, you made it," said Daesung.

"Hi Daesung," I said quickly as I hugged him and entered the apartment.

"You look hasty," he said as the others also came in and he closed the door.

Immediately I found myself in the living room area, I paused. I couldn't believe what I was seeing in front of me and the other Toxins paused too.

"What is going on here?" Daniel asked as he looked around.

There were red party balloons and confetti everywhere. It wasn't much but you could tell that there was some function like a party going on.

"Oh, we wanted it to be a surprise," Daesung answered. "Just a small party for us."

I cleared my throat as I turned to look at Daesung behind me. "Well.... about that...," I started to say but there came a knock at the door.

"I wonder who could that can be," said Daesung. He turned around to get the door.

"Wait!" Zoey called out to him. Daesung stopped and looked at her.

"What is it, Zoey?" he asked.

The knock on the door came again. Whatever Zoey was going to say, she had to say it, and fast.

"Ah....we forgot to inform you about something," she answered.

Daesung continued to look at her but you could tell that his mind was set on opening the door.

"Let me open the door first," he said as he turned and quickly headed for the door.

Zoey almost told him to wait again but I held her shoulder telling her not to.

When Daesung opened the door, he had a surprised look on his face.

"Annyeonghaseyo! (안녕하세요!)" Seunghoon came in first and gave Daesung a brief bow.

I almost laughed out loud. The way Seunghoon came in was so funny and Daesung's expression made it all the more funnier.

The other members of WINNER came in greeting Daesung as they passed through the door.

"We came at the right time," said Mino. "Looks like we are going to have a party today."

"How come you guys are here?" Daesung asked. "We never received a call that you were coming."

Before anyone of us could reply, Seungri appeared round the corner down the hall also dressed in a red suit.

He was humming happily to a song and when he looked up at us, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is going on here?" he asked with a surprised look on his face.

"There's an explanation for this," said Mike.

"I know you weren't expecting a third group," said Seungyoon, "but since we were given the day off, we wanted to hang out with these guys and they told us they were coming here. So, we followed."

"We wanted to tell you before coming here," I said as I looked at Daesung and then at Seungri. "We thought our message got to you guys on time."

Upon finishing my sentence, Taeyang appeared behind Seungri in a red jumper, looking at his phone. Looks like he just saw the message.

"These guys have sent a message saying that they have company," said Taeyang. He looked up and was surprised to see us standing in the living room.

"Hi, Tae," I waved at him with a small smile on my face.

"Just saw your message."

"We can tell," said Jinwoo.

"Where is GD?" Zoey asked.

"Oh, he is getting ready," Seungri answered. "And he isn't going to be too happy about this."

"Why? Because he only expected The Toxins?" Mino asked.

"Pretty much, yes," said Daesung.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to him," I said. "He is in his room, right?"

"Ya," said Seungri. "I'll escort you."

"Where is TOP?" Christine asked.

"Oh, he is getting ready too," said Daesung. "Should be done by now."

I walked over to Seungri and when I reached him, the both of us went down the hall and turned round the corner.

Immediately we were out of sight, I couldn't help but hold my head.

"Sam, are you okay?" Seungri asked.

"Oh, I'm fine," I said as I stopped walking. "I'm just scared about what Ji Yong is going to do."

"He won't react terribly if you explain."

"Wow, people really think that I have the power to calm him down."

Seungri shrugged his shoulders. "Pretty much."

"Okay, I'll go and talk to him alone."

Before I could turn around and head to G-Dragon's room, Mike appeared in the hall from the living room.

"Sam," he called to me when he appeared.

"Hey? What's up with you?" I asked when I noticed the worrying look on his face.

"You won't believe this, but it looks like we might be having more company."

"What do you mean?" Seungri asked.

"Don't tell me," I said with my hand raised to stop Mike from telling me. "BlackPink are coming here too."

Mike gave me a raised eyebrow. "How did you know?"

Seungri gasped as he turned from Mike to me. "Are you some witch or something?"

I shook my head. "I just know," I answered. "I figured what happened with WINNER, we might be experiencing the same thing with some other group."

"This is going to turn out to be one big party and Ji Yong isn't going to like it," said Mike.

"Did someone say big party?" TOP asked behind me.

TOP also appeared in the hall wearing red as well. All this felt like Valentines Day. If we knew the theme for the party would be red, most of us would have worn red too.

"I did," said Mike answering TOP.

"My kitty, kitty," greeted TOP as he pulled me into a hug.

"Hi, TOP," I replied with a smile.

"Hi, Mike. What is all this about a big party? As far as I know, we only invited The Toxins over."

"Well, you're going to be surprised with who we dragged in and also who will be joining us soon," said Mike.

TOP shrugged his shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"You go with Mike into the living room and you will see what he's talking about," I said as I patted TOP on the shoulder.

"Okay, if you say so," said TOP with a hint of suspicion in his voice. He had every right to be curious. He was in for a surprise.

TOP followed Mike to the living room while I stayed with Seungri.

"Do you really want to talk with GD alone?" Seungri asked.

"Someone has to," I replied as I turned around and went to the door of his room.

As I stood face to face with the door, I paused and took in a deep breath as I gathered the courage to knock on the door.

The door flew open and there stood G-Dragon and just like the others, also wore a red suit. I had to admit he looked dashing like the rest and I couldn't help but blush.

"Sam, hi," he said as he gave me that million dollar smile.

I hesitated for a bit until I finally managed to say hi. How I was I going to tell him what was going on?

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Uhhh, yes," I said. "You look nice by the way."

"Thanks. We did this little party only for you. I mean, you and The Toxins, of course."

"I know, and I would like to thank you for all that. But we have a problem."

G-Dragon gave out a worried look. "What is it? Didn't you like the decorations?"

"Oh, no, it's perfect. It's that, we might have bought ourselves some company."

"If it's Lee and Collins I don't mind at all."

"Oh, no, it's not them. You're seriously not going to like what I am going to tell you."

"Don't worry, I can take it."

"Ya, he can take it," said Seungri as he stood at a distance from me down the hall.

I almost gave Seungri a look telling him to keep his mouth shut but I had so much to deal with at the moment, so, I quickly turned back to G-Dragon.

"WINNER are here with us in the living room," I said without beating around the bush. "We were just about to come here when they came by the hotel and they followed us here."

G-Dragon didn't say a word as I looked at him and his eyes never left mine. I tried reading him but it proved to be difficult. Was he mad? Was he going to consider? And I haven't even told him that Blackpink will be here soon.

"And before I forget," I said, "BlackPink are coming here too."

Not a word came out of his mouth still. Now I was worried. We all should.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" I asked. "You're worrying me."

He still didn't say a word. He stood there like a statue. I would slap his face and he still wouldn't budge. What was even worse was that his facial expression hadn't changed from the time I told him the news.

"GD, please say something," I insisted. "You're really worrying me now."

"How did WINNER get here?" he asked.

"Well...." I scratched my head. "When we received your call to come over, they happened to come at the hotel."

"Did you invite them?"

"No. Are you really going to interrogate me over this or are we going to do something because the place is way too small for a party."

G-Dragon gave me a questioning look. "Wait, do you think that this party is going to take place?"

This was exactly what I had feared. He wasn't going to scream his head off at WINNER and BlackPink. But call off the party instead.

"No, you can't do that, hyun," said Seungri as he came to stand next to me. "Can't we figure something out like Sam said?"

"No. Everything is ruined now. We all planned a party for The Toxins only. We never expected extra people to be around."

"Look, I have an idea," I started to suggest. "Why don't we hold the party at the hotel?"

Seungri and G-Dragon looked at me with a questioning look.

"Do you think that will work?" Seungri asked.

"Well, the place is much bigger there," I said. "And the girls and I can quickly go get the decorations to go with your theme."

"That won't be necessary, Sam," said G-Dragon. "We can plan for this another day."

"No, we aren't. This is the only free day we have and it won't hurt to celebrate together after all the hard work we are putting up. Who knows, we might not have this time in the future. You had the right intention of throwing a party. But it looks like destiny wanted all four groups to celebrate together."

G-Dragon looked at me and I hoped he was taking what I said to heart. I had my fingers crossed that he was going to agree.

He rolled his eyes in the end. That was a sign that he had finally given in. I smiled as I felt Seungri beside me finally relax and give a small laugh.

"Okay, you win," said G-Dragon.

"Alright, we better get this show on the road," I said as I turned around and went back to the living room.

I found the others all settled in the living room except Mike and TOP who were standing. They seem to be talking amongst themselves about something. When they heard my footsteps, they all looked at me.

"Okay, I have news," I said as I stood in the middle of the living room close to the coffee table. "To start with, GD was not happy with all this."

"I knew it," said Zoey. "We are so doomed."

"And he wanted to call off the party."

Everyone gasped like they were watching some drama on TV. I raised an eyebrow at them.

"Great, looks like we are not going to have fun today," said Daniel.

"You guys haven't heard me. He wanted to call it off. But he didn't. The party is on."

They all cheered before I could tell them that there has been a change of venues.

"Guys, come on!" I exclaimed, catching their attention. "I'm not even done saying what I wanted to say."

They all kept quiet and settled down like adults.

"Thank you," I continued. "Now, there has been a change of venues. We're going to take the party at the hotel. So everyone, should all be dressed in red just as you can see, BigBang were planning to throw a red themed party."

"That's nice," said Taeyang. "I'm glad GD reconsidered."

"Trust me, it took a while," I lied. It barely took ten minutes. "So, girls, let's go shopping. We need to prepare the place for the party."

Zoey clapped her hands and she stood up from the couch. "This is going to be awesome."

"Mike, please tell BlackPink to be at the hotel by 12 and dressed in red."

"On it," said Mike as he removed his phone.

"Can I come with you?" Daniel asked. "I also want to help make arrangements."

"Me too," said Mike.

"Okay, you can come," I said. "And the rest of you be there by 12." I looked at everyone else in the living room.

"Yes, ma'am," said Seunghoon with a grin on his face.

"We better go get ready then," said Mino. "I surely hope I have something in red."

"Trust me, you do," said Jinwoo.

"Okay, Toxins, let's move out," I said as I turned around and headed for the door.

The other four Toxins quickly followed. When I reached the door, G-Dragon and Seungri appeared round the hall.

"We've gone to pick up some stuff for the party," I told them. "Please be at the hotel by 12, okay?"

Seungri smiled at me and said, "sure. Who wouldn't refuse?"

Any one of us would have blurted out GD's name, but none was dumb enough to do so. Besides, he agreed to still have he party so that's still good, right? He might be a pain sometimes, considering the number of times we both had our differences in the past, but right now, I'm glad he reconsidered over this issue.

"Don't worry, it's a party you will love, trust me," I said as I looked at G-Dragon.

"I know," he replied with a smile. That made me smile too. He wasn't upset anymore. What a relief.

"I'm so glad you changed your mind, GD," said Zoey as she approached him. And before she could go any further or say anything else, I grabbed her hand and pulled her back as I opened the door.

"Come on, let's go," I insisted. We were now in the hall heading to the elevator.

"But I wanted to tell him thank you," said Zoey.

"You can tell him that at the party. Right now, we have work to do."

"And it's an all red themed party," said Christine excitedly.

"I love that it's red," said Zoey. "There are awesome things we can get for the party."

When we soon reached the elevator and got in, Mike asked, "if this party is going to take place, what are we going to do about Collins?"

"Sam already has that figured out," said Daniel as he smiled at me. "So, I'm not worried."

I slapped my forehead as the doors closed in front of us. Convincing Collins wasn't going to be easy.


	21. Chapter 20: As Red As RedVelvet (Part 2)

"Wait, let me get this straight," said Collins over the phone. "You guys want to throw a party at the hotel?"

"Yes," I answered slowly. "We do."

"And what makes you think I'm going to allow that?"

Zoey leaned in closer to me and answered, "because you are invited."

Collins laughed. "Are you serious? Just because you're inviting me to your party doesn't mean I'm going to allow you to throw a party."

Zoey looked at me with a hopeless look on her face. I on the other hand wasn't giving up. I turned to look at Mike.

"Hey, which piñata do you think is best? One with rainbow colours or the all red one?" Mike asked.

"You guys want a piñata?" Collins asked sounding confused. "Are you already buying stuff for the party?"

I didn't answer him right away as I answered Mike, "let's not make it a Mexican party, Mike. We can leave it out."

"But Daniel really wants one," Mike insisted. "He said he hasn't had candy in a long time."

"Ya, a piñata will be awesome," said Zoey.

"Hello, is anyone listening to me?" Collins called out.

"Yes, Collins, we already started buying stuff for the party," I answered.

"Gosh, what to do with you monkeys," Collins muttered. "Okay, you can have your party. Let me talk to the hotel manager to give you guys a permit. You don't want to end up in a cell."

I smiled. "Thanks, Collins."

"Whatever. Just don't tear up the place, will you?"

"We promise," said Zoey.

Collins cut the line and the five of us, Toxins couldn't stop smiling.

"Well, that went well," I said.

"How did you know he wasn't going to refuse if he thought we were already buying stuff for the party?" Zoey asked.

"There was nothing he was going to do about it even if we were to bring all the party decorations back at the hotel without telling him in the first place. He would still say yes no matter what," I answered.

"I told you Sam had it all figured out," said Daniel.

"Now that that's been sorted out, we better get shopping," said Christine.

The five of us all came out of the car parked in the parking lot of the mall. We hurriedly walked up to the entrance to avoid any of our fans from spotting us.

As soon as we entered the mall, I turned to look at the others before we could go any further.

"Okay, so how is it going to be?" I asked. "Should we we split up and buy what we need or stick together?"

"I think we should stick together," said Christine. "We can't split up and just buy what we want. We didn't even make a list."

"I agree. At least if we are together, we can remind ourselves of what we need," said Zoey.

"Okay, then sticking together it is," I said. "We better hurry. We only have three hours till twelve so we better be done with shopping within an hour and a half."

To make our shopping more easier, we quickly found ourselves at a party supply store. Daniel first got red ballons. Lots of them because he was so excited about the party. They were almost too much that I had to put some of them back on the shelves when he wasn't looking.

We even got red confetti. That was all on Zoey. She's a huge fan of such. She reminded me of the old days when we used to make confetti out of cut out paper and put glitter on them. She really liked glitter. She still does, though she seems not to show it sometimes.

Mike was lucky enough to even find an all red piñata. I raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any questions.

"You don't seem pleased that I found a piñata," said Mike.

"Oh, I'm scared for Lee," I said. "She's really going to faint when she sees we actually found one. We aren't Mexican, you know?"

"No, but it will be good to have a good sense of mixed culture."

"That I agree. You can put the piñata in the trolley."

Mike did just that and went off into another aisle to see what other supplies he could get. I was the one slowly pushing the trolley and looking around as well.

Christine came to me with red party hats.

"How many are in each packet?" I asked.

"Ten," Christine answered. "Just got some more just in case."

"In case what?"

"In case some get to spoil their party hats. Especially the boys."

"You're right," I said. "I've no doubt Seungri and Seunghoon will do so."

I felt my phone beep in my purse and when I retrieved it, I found Lee was calling.

"Lee is calling," I said.

"I'll go check for more supplies," said Christine as she disappeared down an aisle.

"You guys just never stop surprising me," said Lee immediately I answered her call. "I was just in the middle of a pedicure when Collins called telling me that you're throwing a party."

"Ya, we are," I said.

"All I wanted was for you to go and have a normal fun time with BigBang. Not decide to throw a party out of the blue because you wanted to."

"If I told you what really happened, you're going to have a huge laugh," I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Don't tell me, save if for after the party. I called to ask if you need anything or else if I don't help, Collins might just fire me."

"You know he wouldn't." I thought for a moment. "In fact, you can help us, Lee. And it will be the easiest thing to do because you don't need to move out of that beauty salon at all."

"There is no way that can happen." I could already imagine Lee making a corky smile and shaking her head.

"We need food and snacks for the party. Just enough to carter twenty to twenty-five people. It shouldn't be all that fancy."

"Okay, I know of a catering business around."

"Can they prepare something in two hours? The party's at twelve."

"Sure they can. It's not one of those massive dinner parties so you need some light food and snacks. They might have something in store for a regular party. I'll call them." 

"Ya, you do that."

Lee paused for a moment. "You're right. I don't have to move out of here at all."

"Told you. Tell me if they agree to do so."

"Okay. Am I invited to the party?"

"Of course you are. You're no stranger. Just one thing though. Come dressed in red."

"Red? Why red?"

"Well, it's the theme for the party."

"I wonder why you chose the color. You guys mostly fancy blue or purple."

"The colour choosing is part of the long story."

"Would you need a white and red cake to go for your party?"

"Mmmm baking cakes is a lot of work. A cake would be nice but I bet these guys would expect a big one for the party."

"Leave that to me. I know a bakery that sells already made cakes and I bet they have a red and white one."

"Thanks, Lee."

"Don't mention it. What's a party without cake?"

Lee cut the line and I put my phone away in my purse. I continued to push the trolley when Mike and Daniel appeared in front of me all of the sudden. I almost bumped into them with the trolley.

"Whoa, you two, I would have run you over," I said.

"Thank God it isn't a car," said Mike.

I rolled my eyes. "What's up?"

"Guess what we found?" Daniel said as both him and Mike raised what they were holding in their hands.

"Oh, confetti guns," I said with a smile. "This is going to be fun."

"Cool! Confetti guns!" Zoey appeared behind me with party blowers.

"We're so going to make a mess at the party," said Daniel.

"All the more for Collins to hate us," I said.

"So what are you saying?" Mike asked. "We shouldn't get them?"

"Of course we can, it's a party after all."

"Yes!" the two boys cheered as they put the confetti guns into the trolley and ran off.

"Aren't we almost done here?" Zoey asked as she came over to the trolley to put in the red party blowers. "I mean, we are almost at the end of the store."

"I think we got all that we need," I said as I looked into the trolley. "But let the others scavenge through the last aisles and see what they get."

"I wanted to ask about the food," said Zoey. "You know there's no party without it."

"I know. Lee called to ask what else we needed and I told her about the food and snacks. There might even be cake."

Zoey's eyes lit up. "Cake?"

"Did someone say cake?" Christine poked her head round the corner of a shelf, with an excited look on her face upon hearing the word "cake."

My two brothers appeared from the last aisles with red party streamers as they sang Flo Rida's song "Cake", "I only came for the cake. Ca-ca-ca-cake Ca-ca-ca-cake!"

"Okay, looks like I shouldn't have said that," I said as I looked at my two brothers sing and dance to the song waving the streamers around.

Zoey laughed. "There's just no party without cake," she said.

"I wonder what's so special about it," I said as I stared off into the distance.

"No one knows," said Christine as she came with red party ribbons and put them in the trolley. "Most people only come for the cake."

"I didn't came here to party," sang Mike as he slowly approached.

"I didn't come here to stay," Daniel continued, following Mike.

"I came to the leave with somebody," sang Mike.

"I only came for the cake," the five of us all responded at the same time.

I smiled. "Okay, are we done?" I asked.

"Looks like we are," said Mike. "That's if you want me to get some party costumes at the end of the aisle."

"No!" the four of us answered. Mike raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright, I was only kidding," he said.

"Let's pay for this stuff," I said. "And who wants to go shopping for red outfits?"

All the four Toxins raised their hands. Come to think of it, I also had to find something red.

"Okay, let's pay and put all this in the car. We will only have forty minutes to get clothes and whatever that is red."

"Aye, aye, captain," said Daniel.

We quickly went straight to the counter and after loading stuff in the trolley again, we quickly rushed out of the store, again with the intention of not being seen so easily by passersby.

As soon as we were done packing the party supplies in the car with the help of the chauffeur, we went back to the mall and this time to get clothes. The four of us split up, Zoey, Christine and I went one way, my two brothers went another.

Surprisingly, as many boutiques that we visited, the girls and I couldn't find anything dazzling in red. There were red dresses, red t-shirts and shirts with fancy red skirts and pants alright, some with a touch of white or black. But we just couldn't find the right outfit. The only thing we managed to come out with were red shoes.

"This is getting ridiculous," said Zoey as the three of us were walking around each with a bag that had a pair of red shoes. "We're running out of time and we can't seem to find the right outfit."

"Shouldn't we have just changed the theme colour?" Christine asked looking at me. "Because I saw a sparkling blue flared summer dress in one of the boutiques."

"You would have looked like a fairy," I said. I knew the dress she was talking about. She couldn't get her eyes off it.

"I feel we're looking for the wrong thing here," said Zoey.

"I feel so too," I said.

"You know the offer is still on the table for getting those costumes we found at the party supply store," said Mike as he and Daniel came from behind.

"Really?" Zoey turned to look at him. "We said no."

Mike smirked. "I don't know about you ladies," he said, "but Daniel and I already have what we need."

"Lucky you," said Christine. "We only managed to get shoes but the outfits we have seen just aren't right."

"Well, there are still plenty of places to look," said Daniel. "It ain't the end of the world."

"But the question is where?" I asked as I bit my lip deep in thought. I quickly pulled out my phone.

"Are you calling a fashion designer?" Zoey asked.

"No, I'm calling Lee. She must be somewhere around this mall." I put the phone to my ear. Her phone began to ring at the under end.

"Are you sure?" Christine asked.

"Hi, Lee," I said as soon as Lee picked up the call. "Where are you?"

"Looking for something red, where else?" she answered.

"Okay, where are you, exactly?"

Lee paused. "Wait, you think we are at the same mall?"

"You are at the Myeong-dong shopping mall, aren't you?"

"I'm not going to ask how you guessed."

"Well, we all like coming here." I shrugged my shoulders. "Didn't have to guess."

"Okay Miss Smarty Pants, why do you want to know where I am?"

"The girls and I are stuck and we need to find a red outfit quick. We don't have much time."

Lee gave us directions to which boutique she was in and we found it within a minute. Surprisingly, she wasn't that far.

"Hey, guys!" Lee called out to us when she noticed us enter the boutique.

Zoey rushed over to Lee as she was looking at a gorgeous sparkling red high low dress.

"Are you going to get this, Lee?" Zoey asked, her eyes were filled with wonder as she looked at the dress.

"Oh, no, you can try it," said Lee. "I already picked a dress."

"Thank you." Zoey quickly unhanged the dress from it's hanger and she quickly went to the dressing room.

"Well, lucky her," said Christine as the rest of us got to where Lee stood with Zoey. "Looks like she found what she was looking for."

"And you haven't," Lee mocked Christine with a smile.

"Ya, ya, ya, let me get right to it," said Christine, trying to rub off Lee as she went in the aisle looking for something red on the clothes rack.

"We don't need to worry about checking for anything," said Mike. "We men have it all handled."

"Stuff for men or boys aren't that hard to get," I said as I looked at my brother.

"As long as it's smart and sensible," said Lee.

"Okay, we get you're trying to say that finding girl stuff is hard," said Mike.

"It is," Lee and I said at the same time.

"Okay, Sam, why don't you look for something?" Daniel reminded me. "We're running out of time."

"Oh, right," I said as I looked around wondering which way to go until I finally picked a direction. Lee followed behind me.

"How come you girls couldn't find an outfit?" Lee asked.

"Maybe it's because we didn't find a nice fancy boutique like this one," I answered as I noticed a red and white dress.

"All boutiques are nice and fancy."

"Well, this one is extra fancy by a long shot."

Lee nodded her head slightly as she looked at a gorgeous blue summer dress. "You might have a point."

I kept on looking in the clothes rack for anything red until Zoey appeared at the other end of the aisle all dressed up in the dress she picked.

"How do I look?" she asked as she twirled around.

"It's gorgeous, Zoey," I replied honestly. Her high low dress looked stunning.

"I like it," said Christine as she appeared standing next to Zoey admiring the dress. "And they are really going to match with your heels."

"Thanks," said Zoey with a smile.

"Too bad you don't look like Cinderella," said Mike.

"I didn't ask for your opinion," said Zoey looking at the other side, where Mike was probably standing. "And besides, Cinderella wore a blue dress."

"But I bet she looked more prettier."

Zoey didn't say a word as she quickly turned around with her dress and headed back to the dressing room.

I went back to looking for a dress when I said, "you really shouldn't be too hard on her, Mike."

"I tell him that everyday," said Daniel at the other end.

Christine soon appeared with a red halter neck backless skater dress.

"Hey, do you think this will look good on me?" she asked Lee and I.

"If you ask me, that looks super cute," I said.

"You should try it. I bet it will look fantastic," said Lee.

Christine ran off to the dressing room and at the same time, Zoey came back with her dress in her hand and back in her usual clothes.

"Found anything yet?" Zoey asked as she looked at me.

"Sadly, no," I answered as I turned round the corner and entered another aisle.

"Well, there must be something for you. Let me pay for this and then I'll come help out with Lee."

"And you better hurry," Mike announced. "We only have 10 minutes."

"Well, time seems to move slow on my part," said Lee as she joined me and Zoey went to the counter.

"I feel the last four minutes I've been here, I ve been searching forever," I said as I drew out a red top that didn't feel right still.

"Don't worry, the place has plenty of stuff."

"Ya, but we have to go and decorate."

"The others can leave and you and I can stay here. The others can decorate without you."

"No, we need Sam around for the decorations," said Daniel.

"True," said Zoey from the counter.

"You can do it well without me, guys," I said to them intently looking at the clothes in front of me. There was nothing red so I moved on to another clothes rack.

"And you don't have to worry about the food and snacks. The people whom I hired are already on it and the hotel knows that they will be expecting them."

"What about the cake?" Mike asked.

"Don't worry too much about the cake. It's bad luck, you know?"

"I've never heard anyone say that in my entire life," said Zoey as she appeared in the aisle Lee and I were in.

"Me neither," said Daniel.

"Well, now you know," said Lee.

"Gosh, there is nothing red here," I said. I was ready to give up. We were almost coming to the last aisle of the boutique. I didn't feel so lucky this time around.

"Don't say that, Sam," said Zoey who was on the opposite side of the aisle with Lee.

"Let me go in the last aisle."

Just as I was about to turn round the corner, I abruptly bumped into something face first and I almost fell to the ground but kept my balance as I took a few steps backwards.

"미안, 너 괜찮 니?" ("Mian, neo kwaenchanh ni?") ("Sorry, are you okay?") asked the voice in front of me as I held my face.

"네, 괜찮나요," ("Ne, kwaenchanhnayo,") ("Yes, I'm fine,") I replied though the bump really hurt.

"Sam, what is it?" Lee asked as she came over to me. She probably hadn't seen me bump into the person in front of me.

"It's nothing, I just bumped into someone," I said as I looked at Lee, still holding my head.

"Oh, hello," said the lady I bumped into. "I didn't notice it was you."

I looked at the person in front of me and I felt my face turn pale for a second. Lee also paused as she realised who I had bumped into.

"Hey," said Zoey as she came towards Lee and I. "Are we still looking for the dress or...... oh, my gosh, you're from RedVelvet," Zoey couldn't believe her eyes when she saw who Lee and I were looking at.

Yeri giggled and said, "yes, and you're Zoey. From The Toxins. I'm such a fan."

"We are also fans of you too," said Zoey almost stammering.

"Ya, we are," I said, with a surprised look on my face.

"The girls are not going to believe this when I tell them that I just met you guys," said Yeri.

"Where are you, Yeri?" came a voice from the last aisle.

"I'm here, come and see who I just met," Yeri called back.

"Hey, Sam, did you find something?" came Mike's voice. I could hear his footsteps and even Daniel's coming from the other side.

"Who are you talking about now?" came the person who called Yeri and appeared round the corner. But the person wasn't alone.

Immediately my two brothers appeared behind Lee, Zoey and I, four other members of RedVelvet appeared behind Yeri. For a moment there was silence.

Then all of the sudden, a little scream came out of nowhere. Everyone turned to where the noise was coming from. It was Christine.

She quickly covered her mouth and gathered herself together. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself after seeing RedVelvet," she said after she uncovered her mouth.

"I'm also as surprised as you are, but I didn't scream, did I?" Mike asked.

"Spare her," said Seulgi, with a smile. "We are all girls and it's quite hard to keep ourselves contained when we see famous people."

"This is so weird," said Daniel. "I'm Daniel and I'm a fan of you guys."

Joy and Irene giggled. "Same here," they said at the same time.

"Isn't this funny?" I asked. "Us meeting RedVelvet, when we are actually having a red themed party today?"

"Ooooh, ya!" the four Toxins slapped their foreheads.

"You're so right, Sam," said Christine. "I didn't even notice."

"You're having a red themed party?" Wendy asked her eyes glowing with excitement. "Cool!"

"Ya, we are, so we were all looking for something red," said Lee.

"That looks good on you, Christine," said Yeri as she walked over to Christine to look at her dress.

Christine blushed. "You even know my name?" Yeri smiled and then Christine said, "oh..., ya, thanks."

"But we have a problem though," said Mike. I looked at him as I knew what the was able to say.

"What is it?" Seulgi asked. "Haven't you found something red, yourself?"

"I already did, thanks. I'm talking about my sister. She hasn't found anything yet and we have to go back and prepare for the party."

"Oh." Seulgi, Irene and Wendy looked at each other, then at me.

Joy soon snapped her fingers, drawing all our attention to her.

"I think I know what will suit her," said Joy.

"You do?" Daniel and Zoey asked at the same time.

"I saw this dress in the aisle we were in. Come, Sam, and I'll show you."

Joy turned around and I quickly followed her. She got to a clothes rack where there were red dresses through and through. She looked among them and checked before she drew out the one she was looking for.

"Here you are," she said with a smile on her face. "You will look really pretty in this."

She gave me a red short sleeveless prom dress. It was really pretty because of the design. And I had to admit, I fell in love with it completely.

"Wow, it's so pretty," said Zoey as she came over to look at the dress.

"It will suit her," said Seulgi. "Nice work, Joy. You picked the right dress."

"Yes, thank you," I said. "I almost gave up looking."

"You're welcome," said Joy as she gave me a hug.

"Well, I bet even if we weren't here, you would still find it," said Yeri.

"Maybe," said Mike. "But you just made finding the dress more easier because we have to go."

"Oh, ya, the party," I slapped my head. "We have to put up the decorations."

"Would you like to come?" Lee asked, addressing the question to RedVelvet.

"Us? To the party?" Wendy asked.

"Ya, it will be nice if you come," said Zoey.

"As much as we would love to hang out with you guys at your party, I'm afraid we have to go back to the studio," said Irene.

"Oh," said Christine looking a little crestfallen. "It would really have been nice if you came."

"Maybe some other time," said Yeri. "I for one would really like to hang out with you guys."

"Ya, we do too," said Daniel.

"Okay, let me try and see if the dress fits," I said.

"Of course it will fit," said Zoey. "The dress is just your size."

"Really?" I looked at the size of the dress by the tag at the back of it. "Even if it is, what if it's too big on me?"

"Whenever I get you a dress, I never check the size because I know you perfectly. We have to go. We don't have much time."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes. I couldn't believe I was agreeing to this but right now, we were late.

"Christine, you better change out of that dress," I reminded her.

"Wait, before we all go, can we take a quick selfie? All of us?" Joy asked as she excitedly pulled out her phone.

"Sure," said Daniel. "But let's not take more than one. We all are running really late."

We quickly huddled ourselves together and with smiling faces, looked up at Joy's camera.


	22. Chapter 21: Before The Party Begins

There was a hustle and bustle when we finally arrived at the hotel and started preparing for the party. Lucky enough, a few hotel staff workers came to help us out to decorate the place. They provided helium gas for the balloons while us, the Toxins and Lee, started to decorate with the filled balloons, confetti, streamers and ribbons in the lounge.

Lee and I were standing on stools and putting up streamers on the top banister of the door entering the lounge, when Mike came in with the red piñata.

"Do you think it's okay if we put up the piñata now?" Mike asked the both of us.

"We can't put it up now," I said. "We will put it later in the middle of the party. If we do so now, who knows which guest of ours will attack it the minute they see it."

"I'm pretty sure I know who might," said Lee, who almost laughed.

"Daniel might as well do it," said Mike. "But right now, among our guests, there are a number of options running through my mind."

"That reminds me," said Lee after pinning the other end of the streamer to the wall and jumping down the stool. "Who's going to hit it?"

"What? The piñata?" I asked.

"Of course, the piñata. What else?"

"I can hit it," came Zoey as she entered the lounge with the filled red balloons, all tied with strings so that she could tie them somewhere and avoid them from flying away.

"No way, not you," said Mike.

"But why not?" Zoey asked. "We never picked the person who is going to hit the piñata, so, I'm volunteering."

"Why can't I hit the piñata?" Daniel asked, coming in with more floating balloons.

"Yes, let Daniel hit the piñata," said Mike. "He's the youngest after all."

"I agree," said Christine who was decorating on the other side of the room close to the TV stand. "Let him do it. He's the one who likes the sweet stuff more anyway."

"Please, Sam, can I hit the piñata?" Daniel pleaded, giving me the puppy dog eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "You can hit the piñata," I said. "But I had someone else in mind, though it seems the youngest will do the honour."

"Wait, who did you have in mind?" Mike asked as I came down the stool.

"G-Dragon," I bluntly answered.

"Huh?" Lee looked at me as she scratched her head. "Why G-Dragon?"

"Because, Lee, the reason why this is a red themed party, is because of him."

"True," said Christine.

"For real? But why are you doing it here instead of BigBang's apartment?"

"Well, the funny thing is, we were invited to come over at their place but then, before we left, WINNER showed up and we had to bring them along," said Daniel.

"Was G-Dragon not going to be excited about them joining you guys?"

"We knew he wasn't, so, we sent a message, but Taeyang read it a little too late," said Zoey.

"And G-Dragon was not happy about it like you said, Lee," I said.

"So, then how did you resolve things?" Lee asked.

"Sam talked to him and somehow managed to convince him that we should have a party all together because the place was too small," said Mike. "Besides, BlackPink were going to show up too."

"Okay. What I don't get, is why WINNER and BlackPink wanted to hang out with you guys today. They are the ones who caused all the confusion."

"We're just too awesome," said Christine.

"That is exactly what I wanted to say," said Mike.

"That's my greatest fear, apparently," said Lee, as she held her head.

"What? Isn't being awesome, awesome?" Zoey asked.

"I won't deny it, all your personalities combined is just phenomenal. That's why people just can't get enough of you and want to hang out with you more often. But I'm afraid when the time comes to let you go, it will be hard for them."

I didn't expect Lee to say what she said and none of the other Toxins thought so either. Leaving Korea wasn't going to be hard on them, it would be hard on us too. A sad gloomy spell fell upon us at the moment. 

"Let me not spoil your mood over this," said Lee. "We're going to miss them too, so, we have to make the most of our last days, right?"

"Ya, we should," said Daniel as he rubbed his chest. "I feel a little guilty now over who should hit the piñata."

"Having second thoughts?" I asked.

"Ya, you're right, Sam. I think G-Dragon should be the one hitting it. Not me."

"Did Lee's little speech change your mind?" Christine asked.

"Ya, I guess so. We kind of ruined his little party because of our 'awesomeness' or whatever the reason why the others wanted to hang out with us, so, I think we should let him do it."

"He thought just like me on that," I said with a smile.

"Okay, you both have a point," said Christine. "G-Dragon will do it."

"Ya, and we shouldn't tell him," said Lee.

"Okay," said Zoey as she started to look around the place. "Now where to put the balloons."

"I'll go and put this away," said Mike as he left the lounge with the piñata.

"I almost forgot, we will need a bat," I said. "What are we going to hit the piñata with?"

"I'll take care of it," said Lee as she went to the one of the chairs in the lounge and got her phone. "You guys can carry on."

We went on decorating the place and within an hour, we were done. The place looked amazing and lucky us who had extra help from the hotel staff, we managed to get the place before time. That left us with an extra hour and some minutes to get ready.

The boys were heading to their room in the hall when I said to Mike:

"Mike, I hope you have your laptop with your party music. You know we need it."

"Sure, I do," he answered. "I already gave myself the responsibility of supplying the music for the party. I even have some awesome k-pop hits too."

"Good," said Zoey as she came up right behind me. "I seriously can't wait to get my groove on."

"I was wondering if we could have games at the party," Christine suggested as she came to join us in the hall from the lounge.

"Let me take care of it," said Lee who had been standing by the elevator talking to two of the hotel staff who had soon gone up the elevator. "That's why you have me around."

"Yes and we are grateful," I said. "Wait, how far is the arrival of the food and cake going to take?"

"I got a call from the caterer ten minutes ago. They will be here in thirty minutes."

"You're simply the best, Lee," said Daniel, giving her a smile.

"I know," Lee smiled. "We all better get ready. You have enough time before the guests arrive."

We all went in our rooms. When Zoey and I went in ours, Zoey rushed past me and went straight to the bathroom. I was lucky enough not to try and rush for the shower myself. She and I would have been fighting to pass through that door.

"You better hurry up, Zoey," I said.

"If you say that, I might just take my time," she said as I heard her turn the tap.

I didn't say anything as I went over to my bed and looked at my red prom dress laying there. I picked it up from the hanger. It was really pretty and it was going to match with my red wedges.

I decided to look for any jewellery like a necklace or bracelet that might go with my dress as I waited for Zoey to get done in the shower.

I went to the closet, opened and removed my suitcase at the top of the closet. I kept a lot of my jewellery in there. I bet I had something that could go with the dress.

I put the suitcase on the bed, zipped it open and started to look among my things for a purple jewellery box. When I finally found it, I started to rummage through it.

I soon came out with a few jewellery options I could wear with the dress for the party. I had found a necklace with a silver neck chain and a glittering red heart on it, a silver bracelet with bits of red and silver charms on it. I even found red studs for my ears. They weren't big, but they were cute. I decided to go for the red hearted necklace, the bracelet and the studs.

As soon as I laid the jewellery on the bed and had packed the suitcase back in its place, Zoey came out of the shower in a white bath robe.

"Ooooh! You found some jewellery," said Zoey, her eyes lit up as she looked at the jewellery on the bed as though she had just found golden treasure.

"Ya, and you're going to find yours in your jewellery box," I said to her as I took them out of her sight and into the wardrobe.

"Awww, you know how I hate looking for stuff," said Zoey as she dried her wet hair with a towel.

"I better hit the shower," I said as I sat on my bed and removed my shoes.

"Once you're done, can you help me with finding what jewellery to wear?"

"Maybe. As long as it's coming from your jewellery box."

"Fine," she growled.

I smiled. I knew how much she liked going through my jewellery. I never knew the reason why, but I always thought she had way better jewellery than I did.

There soon came a knock at the door.

"Come in," said Zoey.

Christine came in, also in a bath robe. Looked like she just came from hitting the shower as well.

"Girls, I think we have a problem," said Christine as she came into the room.

"What's up? No one is coming for the party?" Zoey asked.

"No. You really think too much of the negatives, Zoey."

"What's up, Christine? Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Kind of. It has something to do with the party."

"Okay...what about it if the guests are going to show?"

"Apparently, there is a hash tag trending on Twitter about our party."

Zoey and I looked at Christine, not believing a word she said.

"How come?" I asked. "I never posted anything concerning the party."

"And as a Twitter freak, I swear, I didn't even post anything today because I was so busy," said Zoey.

"Could the boys have done so?" Christine asked. "Lee saw this first on Twitter and told me immediately I came out of the shower."

"We better ask, but I doubt if one of them did," I said.

"SAMMM!" came a call from down the hall. Seconds later, Mike and Daniel came in the room.

"I'm taking you saw the hash tag trending on Twitter," said Christine.

"We did," said Daniel. "Did any of you guys post anything?"

"No, we didn't," I said. "I'm guessing a guest of ours did."

"But who?" Zoey asked.

"Does it even matter?" Mike asked. "What's done is done. Besides, we all didn't agree here that we should make this party thing private."

"True, but I bet someone would have wanted it that way," I said.

"G-Dragon," we all answered at the same time.

"Now what are we going to do?" Christine asked. "I bet our managers didn't want to make this too public either. Now that it is, we have to worry about the paparazzi."

"I will make sure to tell the hotel staff that we will be having company," I said as I stood up from the bed.

"Ya, you do that," said Daniel.

Just as I was about to leave the room, my phone started to ring on my bed. I went over to answer it. But as soon as I saw the caller ID, I froze.

"Are you going to get that, Sam?" Zoey asked.

"You will not believe who's calling," I said.

"I hope it's one of our party guests saying that they were the ones who announced to the whole world about our party," said Mike.

I slowly picked up the phone and said, "sadly, it isn't one of them."

"Who is it then?" Christine asked.

I showed my phone to everyone in the room. They all had surprised looks on their faces.

"Are you going to answer him?" Mike asked.

"He's obviously calling about the party," I said. "Let me see what he has to say."

I quickly slid the green button to answer the call.

"Jungkook, hi," I said. "What pleasure do I have of receiving a call from you today?"


	23. Chapter 22: Let The Party Begin

The hour was almost here and the place was looking magnificently red thanks to Lee, the hotel staff and the five of us Toxins. The food came right on time and they looked really appetizing. They were set on tables down the hall just after the door leading to the lounge. Mike had quickly set up the sound system for the party and there was some music playing in low sound.

Mike was standing by the sound system behind his laptop going through his music list. He volunteered to be the DJ for the day. Christine and Zoey were still in their rooms adding finishing touches to their makeup. I know it's a red themed party, but if they were putting red makeup all over their faces, they would look like clowns.

Daniel and I were standing at the entrance of the lounge looking around and admiring the place. As for Lee, she was taking a phone call down the hall, obviously telling the staff to be aware of our guests. She was dressed in a stunning red long flared dress that made her look twice as pretty. She decided to take up the party as the host.

"This is going to be some party," said Daniel.

"Don't you think we should have put up a disco ball?" I asked as I stared at the ceiling.

"Nah, it's fine. The red streamers are already shiny enough that we don't need one."

"Ya, you're right. I'm nervous about the party, you know?"

"Because of the paparazzi? They aren't coming in this party for your own info. It's not like they are going to judge the way our party is going to be."

"You're right, we shouldn't be worried now that we have beefed up security. But I'm worried for another reason."

Daniel folded his arms as he looked at me. "Whenever you say that, things happen for the worst."

"Twenty percent of the time," I assured him.

"More of a fifty if you ask me."

"Well, that's too much, don't you think?"

"I don't know. You're the one who gets the crazy heebeegeebees all the time. Now tell me, do you feel something bad is really going to happen at the party?"

"No, not really. Maybe I'm just thinking too much worrying that something might go wrong."

"Or maybe, you're thinking too much about G-Dragon."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Why would I be thinking about him?"

"I don't know." Daniel playfully moved his foot around. He wore pretty cool red and white Nike sneakers with a matching red and black baseball jersey and black shirt with black jeans. Mike wore similar clothes since they both decided that they should look like twins for the day. "Maybe you're just trying to impress him."

"No, I'm not trying to impress him. I just feel guilty. I mean, it was his party after all and then we ruined everything."

"You can't simply blame us. But now that you've have put up a warning signal, I might just be a little cautious from now on."

"Nothing is going to go wrong. Don't mind what I say."

"Sam, are you just having this weird feeling because of the phone call you received earlier?"

I gulped. Maybe that's why I was feeling like this. And now that Daniel had reminded me, he might be right.

"Let's not think about it," I said as I looked over at Lee down the hall. "Lee doesn't know about this yet."

"Sure," said Daniel as he pantomimed with his fingers by zipping his mouth.

Lee came towards us after talking on the phone. "Okay, guys," she said. "Our first guests have arrived."

"Who?" I asked.

"WINNER."

"Well, they are really early," said Daniel. "And it's only five minutes till the party starts."

"At least we can get the party started. So, how is the situation downstairs, Lee?"

"I've been told by the staff that there isn't much of the paparazzi. There are a few fans as well, but so far, everything seems normal," said Lee.

I raised an eyebrow. Something didn't feel right. Normal wasn't what I was expecting. But I tried not to think too much about it.

"Well, that's great," said Daniel. "Not much to worry about now."

"For the time being," my mind couldn't help but say.

The sound of the elevator rang in our ears and the three of us all turned towards it.

"Hey, party people!" greeted Seunghoon as he came out of the elevator first in a bright red leather jacket with cool red and black shades that he had placed over his head rather than his eyes. He stopped dead on his tracks when he saw us, particularly, me.

"Wow, Sam," he said. His mouth fell open.

Mino who appeared behind him looked at me and he too had his mouth open.

"You look really beautiful, Sam," said Jinwoo who immediately appeared behind the two who were dumbfounded.

"Thank you, Jinwoo, and you look adorable in the red suit," I said, as he came over to me and gave me a hug. Then he went onto hug Lee.

"Hey, Daniel."

"Hi, you're looking smart in that red suit of yours," said Daniel.

"Thanks."

"I wonder what's up with these two," said Seungyoon as he came to stand beside Mino and Seunghoon.

"Don't mind them," I said. "You, my friend, are stunning."

Seungyoon wore all casual and cool, but you can't deny that he came with a sense of style. He wore a loose red cashmere t-shirt with black jeans and he tied around his waist a black and red checked t-shirt. To finish his look, he wore a gold chain around his neck, with a black head sock on his head and his shoes were red Jordans.

Seunghoon also came over to hug me and Lee.

"Well, you two ladies look stunning," said Seungyoon.

"Thank you, you boys are rocking it though," said Lee.

I walked over to Mino and Seunghoon and closed both their gaping mouths when I got close to them.

"Are you two fine now?" I asked.

Seunghoon smiled at me. "That's if I get to dance with you first. That's when I'll feel better."

"No," said Mino who quickly came behind me and took my arm. "I'll be dancing with her first, if she doesn't mind."

I wanted to say that I do mind, but Mino quickly took me into the lounge. I heard Seunghoon behind me complain.

"You're so unfair, Mino," he said as he came into the lounge with the others behind him.

"What's going on?" Mike asked as looked up from his laptop at Mino and I.

"Crank up the volume," said Mino, as he still held my hand. "Sam and I want to dance."

"You wanted to dance, not me," I reminded him.

"I know just the song to get this party going," said Mike as he tapped on his laptop and the music started to play.

I shook my head for a moment, looking at Mino. I wanted to tell him how ridiculous all this was until the song I heard coming from the speakers made me forget what I wanted to say.

I looked at Mike. "Oh my gosh," I said, totally surprised. "It's been so long since I heard this song."

"One of my all time favourites," said Daniel, as he was already in the mood to dance, swaying his head side to side.

It was the "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. I saw Mino beside me start to dance. Daniel started to shuffle all over the place. I couldn't help but smile when Mino turned to look at me and we joined Daniel just when the lyrics were sang

"Party rock is in the house tonight  
Everybody just have a good time (yeah)  
And we gon' make you lose your mind (woo)  
Everybody just have a good time (clap)  
Party rock is in the house tonight (oh)  
Everybody just have a good time (I can feel it baby)  
And we gon' make you lose your mind (yeaH)  
We just wanna see you  
Shake that!  
Everyday I'm shuffling"

Mino, Daniel and I started to shuffle around the place. The three of us made a circle as we did the shuffle with our feet. I had to admit, it was fun. This was definitely the right song to get the party going.

Seunghoon, Seungyoon and Jinwoo also joined in while Lee just stood back and watched. Through the corner of my eye, I might have seen her take a photo or maybe a video of us dancing with her phone.

We all danced until the song was done and I wanted to dance some more. This was turning out to be really fun.

"Hey, you guys did the shuffle without me?" Zoey asked as she appeared at the entrance of the lounge.

"Zoey!" we all exclaimed excitedly upon seeing her.

"Awww, I can see you all missed me so much," she said with a smile. She came over to us and she hugged me first.

"Why are you hugging me?" I asked. "You are supposed to be hugging our guests."

"I know, but I wanted to hug the most beautiful person in this room," she said.

"Aww, thanks Zoey," I hugged her back.

"But you also look stunning," said Mino.

"Thanks, Mino. I'm so glad you guys made it. Crank up the music, Mike," Zoey turned to look at Mike. "We need to get this party on the road."

"I thought you'll never say that," said Mike. "But where is Christine?"

"Looking for me?" Christine appeared in the lounge in her dress. Everyone who looked her way were stunned by how gorgeous she looked.

"Wow, you look amazing," said Mino as he looked at Christine while he raised his shades from his eyes to have a clear view.

Christine was blushing at the comment and I was standing right next to Jinwoo who had his mouth open. Before anyone could notice, I gently closed his mouth as I lightly held his lower jaw and pushed it up.

He looked at me with an embarrassing look, but he blushed with a smile.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"You're welcome," I whispered as I smiled back. I couldn't get over his embarrassed look. He looked so cute.

"Okay, let's continue with the party, people," said Lee as she came to join us. "BlackPink are here."

"Great, let us continue while we wait for them," I said and Mike increased the volume.

The four members of BlackPink came in the lounge some minutes later and the four ladies all dressed in red party dresses looked amazingly beautiful. Lee was standing by the door of the lounge when they arrived. Zoey and I went to join her.

"OMG, you girls look so beautiful," said Zoey.

"Thanks," said Jennie. "Loving the dress."

"Thank you."

"You look gorgeous, Sam," said Jisoo.

"Thanks, you all look lovely," I said. "Please, come in, the party has just started."

"The place looks amazing," said Rosé, with a look of wonder.

"Ya, it really is," I said as I looked around the place appreciating the work we did.

"BlackPink in the house, everyone!" Seunghoon called out.

"Seunghoon, you can really be loud sometimes," said Lee.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked.

"Not really," said Lisa as he smiled at him.

"Come on, you ladies need to get your groove on," said Daniel as he came over and took hold of Jennie and Rosé's hand and he led them on to the dance floor.

I looked at the the time on my wrist watch wondering why BigBang weren't here yet. It was more of their party than ours, so, I didn't expect them to be here early. But I still couldn't help but wonder why they were running so late. The other two BlackPink members went to join those on the dance floor.

"I hope you're looking at your watch wondering why these guys aren't here yet," said Lee as she came to stand next to me.

"You're right," I said. "I hope they will be here soon."

"Don't worry, the party just started."

"Is the lovely lady here worrying about something?" Seunghoon asked as he came towards Lee and I.

"If anything, Lee is the one worrying, not me," I said.

"You can be a really good liar sometimes, my little kitty," said Seunghoon as he softly pinched my right cheek. "But I just saw you looking at your wrist watch and looking really worried."

"Fine, you got me. If you hadn't seen me looking at the time, you wouldn't have noticed anyway."

"True. Come on, you need to stop worrying and start having fun."

Seunghoon took my hand and we went to join the others dancing and having a good time.

After dancing to a few songs, I soon felt thirsty and I went out of the lounge to get myself a drink. There were two of the hotel staff waiters who stood by the table to serve us at the party. And one of them served me a red coloured fruit punch when I asked for it. I looked at my watch. It was almost an hour now and BigBang still weren't here.

Just as I got my drink, Rosé and Lisa came into the hall.

"Thank goodness, there is something to drink," said Lisa. "I think I danced so much that I'm so thristy."

"Help yourselves out," I said. "I was thirsty myself."

"Any news from our oppas yet?" Rosé asked as she and Lisa joined me by the table.

I knew in Korean, "Oppa" (오빠) meant an older brother to a female. But in recent times, it could be addressed to any man old enough to be your brother or even a nickname for your lover, if it seem fit, or even a friend.

"Not yet," I said as the waiter who had fixed my drink earlier did the same for Lisa and Rosé. "I haven't even called them yet. I left that for Lee to handle."

"Well, they better get here quickly," said Lisa. "They will be missing out on the party."

I couldn't agree with her more. They were late and when they do arrive, I would make sure to give them an earful.

Just as the three of us were heading back to the lounge, the elevator made its usual noise whenever it had arrived to the floor the people in it intended on finding themselves on. I hope it was who everybody in this party was waiting for.

The doors flew open and the five BigBang members stepped out of the elevator, dressed in the red outfits I found them wearing when we went to their dorm earlier. Thank goodness they were finally here.

"Ah!" Lisa exclaimed. "They are here."

"And it's about time too," said Lee as she also appeared from the lounge.

"Sorry, we are late," said TOP with a cheeky smile on his face. "But may I say that you ladies look absolutely stunning."

"Thank you, oppa," said Lisa. "We're just glad that you're here."

"And you all look very handsome," said Rosé.

"And you should all be apologising with those handsome faces of yours to everyone at the party," said Lee. "Well, they wouldn't mind, except Sam, here. She's really upset that you're late."

It was then that I realised that I had stood a few feet away from them and BigBang hadn't noticed my presence when they first stepped out of the elevator. And secondly, I had been sipping my drink through a red straw that I hadn't said a word of welcome. I felt like a rat caught in the lamp light when everyone turned to look at me.

"Sam," said Daesung as he came closer to me first. "You look really lovely."

I removed the straw in my mouth and I blushed upon Daesung's comment. The way he looked at me even made me blush ten times more.

"Just stunning," said TOP.

"I for one can't take my eyes off you right now," said Seungri.

"I...., thanks," I continued to blush. I wanted to say something and they made me forget. I realised that I was supposed to be mad at them for some reason, but then I couldn't figure out what it was. I groaned in the inside. Curse their gorgeous looks.

"We are really sorry for being late," said Taeyang. "You must be really upset with us."

"You got that right," I managed to say, trying to hide my blushing cheeks.

Everyone continued to look at me. Lee and the two BlackPink members looked at me like I said something wrong. Must have been my tone that startled them. But as for the five BigBang members, they didn't seem to mind what I said and they continued to look at me like I was some magnificent flower or something.

"Sorry," I said. "I didn't want to sound mean to you guys. I'm just glad you came."

"And so are we," said G-Dragon giving me a smile.

"What made you guys so late?" Rosé asked.

"I was about to ask the same question," said Lee as she turned to give BigBang a questioning look.

"Oh, um, we just thought of....." Seungri started but Taeyang and G-Dragon who stood on either side of him covered his mouth.

"Why are you covering his mouth?" Lisa asked.

I sipped on my drink. Something was up with them and I really wanted to know. But it was best to pretend that I didn't seem interested.

"Nothing, he's just wasting time here," said G-Dragon, "when we really want to party."

"Come on, now that you're here, we can all be at ease," said Lee.

Daesung who stood closer to me, offered his arm and I gladly took it as he led me into the lounge as the others followed. Everyone else in the lounge was super excited to see BigBang and the party continued on its toll.

While we continued to have fun, I kept in mind that BigBang might have something planned for the party and I had to find out what it was. And also, that wasn't my only problem. I had to talk to Lee.

"Lee, can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked her when I managed to get away from the others and took Lee into the hall.

"What is it, Sam?" she asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, there is."

Lee folded her arms. "What is it?"

This was going to be difficult. How was I going to tell Lee about Jungkook's call? I had to tell her before anything would fall out of the sky like a massive time bomb. And it might not be a surprise for me and the other Toxins, but it will be a hell lot of a surprise to everyone else at the party.


	24. Chapter 23: Surprise Me

"Hey, Sam," said G-Dragon as he came towards me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

At the moment, I was having a chat with Jennie and Jinwoo. Others were dancing and having a good time. At some point, there was a dance competition between Christine and TOP, which was hilarious since TOP wasn't much of a dancer. With Lee as our host, she made it even more exciting when we had to do a ballroom dance and I had to dance with Taeyang. And I never thought Mike had that kind of music for such an occasion.

A few minutes later, the party died down a little bit, but the music still kept us going since people soon switched to chatting mode. I wondered when Lee would bring out the piñata. I was really in the mood for candy.

"Hey, Sam, are you there?" G-Dragon asked as he looked at me, waving a hand across my face.

"Oh, goodness," I said as I shook my head, shaking off the craving for candy. "Sorry, GD, I was so preoccupied with something that I didn't hear you for a second."

"I would like to have a word. Hopefully, Jennie and Jinwoo wouldn't mind."

"No, we wouldn't, hyung," said Jinwoo as he smiled with Jennie.

G-Dragon quickly took my hand and led me out of the lounge. I had to admit, he was very fast when doing so that Lee didn't notice us leave as she was talking to Seunghoon and Rosé.

G-Dragon and I were soon in the hallway. We stopped as he turned to look at me.

"What is it?" I asked. "Don't you like the party?"

"It's why I dragged you out here," he said. "I didn't get the chance to tell you that the place looks really amazing and the party is much more fun than I expected."

"Now you agree with me that it was really a good idea to invite the others, right?"

G-Dragon smiled at me and said, "it definitely was. Thanks, Sam."

"You're welcome. Now, can we get back to the party? Lee is going to notice that we aren't there."

"Does she really notice that fast?"

"If she's not busy chatting with someone, then yes, she will."

"Okay, let me be quick then. I noticed that a few minutes after we arrived, you went out of the lounge to talk to Lee. Is something up or are you guys planning something?"

I felt caught in a net. I thought no one was going to notice that except maybe the other Toxins because they knew I had something to tell Lee. I was a little surprised with the answer I gave G-Dragon, saying:

"Yes, there is something. You guys will have to wait, because it's a surprise."

Well, I was clearly talking about the piñata and I wasn't lying about it. Though I could be lying about another surprise waiting for us at any moment.

"Oh, really? Why can't you tell me about it."

I shook my head. "No, it wouldn't be fair to anyone else at the party. So, you just have to wait like everyone else."

G-Dragon groaned. "Really?"

"Really, really."

"Is there anything I could do just for you to tell me?"

"Are you talking about a bribe?"

"Does it sound like it?" G-Dragon raised an eyebrow, playfully questioning me.

"Ya, it is. Can we go back to the party now?"

G-Dragon smiled at me. "Fine, if you say so."

I stepped out of the way and I gestured with my hand that he had to go back to the lounge. He stood there for a moment and looked at me then he made his way back to the party. I was following right behind him when Zoey appeared from inside and she held my shoulders, dragging me backwards into the hall.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"What was G-Dragon talking to you about?" she asked as she folded her arms.

"He wanted to know what we had planned for the party. I told him it was a surprise."

"You were referring to the piñata, right?"

"Ya, I was, but I didn't tell him about it and that he had to wait."

Zoey blew out a sigh of relief. "Did you tell Lee about the thing?"

I knew what she meant when she said "thing." "Yes," I answered, "I did."

"How did she take it?"

"She was a little surprised, but she said she will see how everything turns out."

"Well, I just hope the others won't be upset."

"You know, I feel BigBang also have some sort of surprise for us."

"Really? Did you find out from G-Dragon?"

"No, I didn't ask him. As a matter of fact, I should have just traded information. He wanted to know what our surprise is and I should have asked him what they have for us too."

"But why didn't you?"

"I would be wasting the surprise. And besides, we could easily just get the information from one of the BigBang members without any struggle or any trade at all."

"I think I know who you're targeting here."

I smiled and she smiled back. She definitely knew who my target is.

"Let's go back to the party," I said.

"Okay, I have faith that what you're going to do will work," said Zoey.

"Don't get your hopes up. We're running out of time and I really need to think of something quick."

Zoey and I went back into the lounge where everyone was now dancing to a BlackPink hit song. Everyone seemed to be having fun, and when I found my target, I looked over at Zoey and we both nodded our heads then went our separate ways.

I started to dance to the rhythm of the beat as I slowly made my way to the crowd of people dancing in the middle of the lounge. I was dancing next to Jennie who happened to be rapping on her part in the song. She was oblivious that I was even there. I went further into the crowd, bypassing Mino and Christine who were dancing together. Soon, I found my target and just as I was about to approach, someone took me by the hand and pulled me aside away from the crowd.

"What the..." I looked at the person who had pulled me. It was Daniel.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The cake is here and Lee wants you to take care of it," said Daniel.

"The cake is here now?" I was a little surprised. We weren't expecting the cake so soon.

"I know, I'm also surprised. We haven't even hit the piñata yet." He had a frown on his face upon mentioning the piñata.

"Your love for candy is just adorable. But right now, we have to deal with the cake and I was planning to do something just now."

"Like what?"

"I'll tell you later. But why can't Lee handle the cake? Even the hotel staff are better off doing it."

"She said she has something to do at the moment and we don't have much of the hotel staff to help us out. There's another function going on downstairs."

"And we only have those two at the tables attending to our guests," I said as I put the math together. I bit my lip in thought. "Okay, looks like I'll have to handle the cake."

"I can help you if you want."

"If that means you licking the cream off the cake, then fine. Let's go."

Daniel and I were just heading out of the lounge when Zoey quickly approached us. 

"Sam, where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going downstairs with Daniel," I answered.

"But what about the plan?"

"It can wait for a little while longer. I've been told to do something."

"And what do you need to do that requires you to head out of the party?"

"Gosh, now is the time you want to be an investigator?" asked Daniel as he slapped his forehead with annoyance.

Zoey almost said something to him but I interrupted by saying, "look, the cake has arrived and Lee is busy, so she told me to handle the cake."

"And I'm also helping," Daniel added on for himself.

"May I help? I also want to see the cake."

"I just want to lick the cream before anyone else does," said Daniel.

"Okay, quick, we need to go before anyone notices that we are gone," I said.

The three of us rushed out of the lounge and entered the elevator. Luckily, no one had come for us as soon as we got in.

"So, what were you two planning to do a few minutes ago?" Daniel asked.

"Should we tell him?" Zoey asked as she stood right beside me.

"Well, there's no harm in telling him," I said as I stared up at the elevator monitor.

Zoey turned to look at Daniel. "Okay, Sam here thinks BigBang might have a surprise for us."

"Really?" Daniel looked surprised.

"Ya, I noticed the time they arrived that something was up," I said. "And Seungri was just about to tell us something but G-Dragon and Taeyang covered his mouth."

"That's something. And I bet you didn't find out what it was because I pulled you aside."

"Yes. But let's handle the cake first, then we can find a way to reveal what surprise these guys have for us."

"Okay. This party is just getting exciting," said Daniel as he rubbed his hands together.

We soon reached the ground floor and just as we stepped out of the elevator, we heard noises at the entrance door of the lobby. The three of us turned to the source of the noise and we saw a group of fans lifting their colourful flyers with sweet messages on them. They cheered upon seeing us that for a moment, I almost had a heart attack. I almost forgot that we had visitors downstairs. Luckily, they were just behind the door with the security keeping them at bay. But they didn't seem to want to barge into the lobby with force. They just stood there, well behaved. It's what I liked about Korean fans. If we were back home, the three of us would be rushing back in the elevator by now. There were few paparazzi taking pictures with their cameras.

Zoey gave out flying kisses to the fans and that drove them a little wild. All Daniel and I did was wave at them. But we had to focus on what we came to do. And that was to get the cake.

We went to the reception desk where we asked the kind lady about the delivery.

"Oh, yes, there is a delivery truck just outside the back," she said with a smile. "Will you three be able to handle it? We can bring some of the staff to help you out."

"Thanks, but we heard of the function going on and they might be busy," I said.

"Okay, but just in case, inform us when you need any help."

"We will, thanks."

"You can use the kitchen to get through the back."

"Great, that would be better, thank you. Let's go, guys."

The fans were still cheering outside even when we made our leave. We took a detour round the lobby and found ourselves in the hall leading to a large ballroom where the function was being held. We passed most of the hotel waiters and waitresses with trays of delicious food as they came from the kitchen.

"Gosh, the food looks so delicious," said Daniel, as his eyes followed a tray of food a waitress was carrying.

"You'll have to worry about your own food upstairs, you know?" Zoey reminded him.

"Can we please not talk about food?" I asked.

"But we are going to the place where food is prepared to perfection," said Daniel with a smile.

"You're right. So stay focused."

"He will try," said Zoey. "That, I can guarantee."

We soon entered the kitchen and we found the place busy as usual, with cooks cutting away at food, pots boiling, lovely pastries baking, foods on pans frying and cooks serving their delicious meals onto plates that were soon taken away by the waiters and waitresses standing by so as to serve the audience in the ballroom. The place was really packed and busy that the three of us for a moment, felt a little out of place.

"Well, this place is busy," said Daniel.

"Tell me about it," said Zoey.

"It would have been a whole lot easier if any cook could direct us through all the way to the back door," I said.

And just as if my wish had been granted from up above, a tall Korean man, probably in his late thirties and dressed as the main chef had been going round the kitchen looking at every dish each cook was preparing. He was coming from the second row where some cooks were working to the first when he looked up and noticed us by the door.

"Ah, The Toxins," said the Chef as he stopped what he was doing and approached us.

Zoey, Daniel and I bowed our heads when he stood in front of us.

"Oh, I see you've been taught good manners," said the Chef with a smile.

"Yes, we have," I answered.

"You must be here for your cake. Sorry, we could have sent it to you right away but at the moment, everyone seems busy."

"We've been told, nothing to worry about."

"Good, right this way, please. I'll lead you to the cake."

We bypassed the cooking staff who were running up and down, some collecting ingredients from the pantry to prepare their dishes. The place was really packed and the aroma of different kinds of cuisines was intoxicating that I noticed Daniel behind me looking at the wonderful foods being prepared and served in the most creative and delicious way possible. I imagined his mouth water. Well, he wasn't the only one.

The Chef took us to the back of the kitchen where they were silver moving trays and moveable shelves packed on each side of the wall. He led us to the backdoor where we found a truck by the loading bay. It must be the same truck that had our cake in it, I hope.

The driver of the truck wore a blue baseball cap that covered his eyes. He was waiting at the loading bay next to the truck. The container at the back of it was open.

"I'll have to leave you here," said the Chef. "I have to attend to what is in the kitchen."

"Thank you, we will take it from here," I said as I gave him a bow and the other two Toxins with me, did the same.

The Chef quickly went back the way we came and the three of us approached the delivery truck where the driver stood waiting.

"The cake is right in the back," said the man as we approached the truck. We couldn't see his eyes as he looked down at the ground and they were covered by the baseball cap.

Daniel peered into the container of the truck first and saw the cake. "Oh, my, you guys have to see this. This cake is huge."

Zoey and I looked inside and we saw a tall white and red cake on a silver serving trolley. It looked like one of those layered cakes you find on weddings. The cake had four layers with white and red colours.

Daniel got inside the truck first to get a good look at it. The back of the truck was packed close to the concrete slab where we were standing on to make it easier to get in. I thought it wasn't such a good idea for Daniel to be in there.

"Daniel, get back here," I said.

But he already got to the cake and he couldn't help but look at it.

"Yum, it looks so delicious," he said as he licked his lips.

"Wow, it's so beautiful," said Zoey as she also got into the truck. Goodness, I didn't want her to go in too.

"I know. I just want to eat it. I wish Mike was here right now."

"Guys, get back here," I said as I turned to look at the truck driver who had his eyes looking else where that I still couldn't see his face. "Can you help us with taking the cake out of the truck?"

"Sure," he said still not looking at me.

Just as he was about to climb the concrete platform, the sound of a phone came ringing. I wondered where the noise was coming from because I didn't have my phone with me and that definitely didn't sound like any of the Toxins' ringtones.

"Sorry," said the driver as he stopped his attempt to climb. "That's my phone. Let me just go answer it. Would you mind helping with dragging the cake out for me with your friends?"

I thought we were wasting a lot of time here, so I agreed to help out as the man quickly rushed back to the front of the truck to get his phone.

I entered the truck where Zoey and Daniel were admiring the cake.

"Come on, you two, we need to move the cake out of here," I said.

Daniel had swiped away some of the cream at the bottom layer of the cake that was red and put it in his mouth.

"Yum, this cake is so delicious," said Daniel as he smiled at me. "It must be a vanilla and strawberry cake. The bottom part tastes like strawberry."

"Well, now that you tasted it, can we please take the cake and leave?"

Zoey also took some cream and tasted the white layer of the cake just above the bottom red layer. "Yep, this is definitely vanilla and strawberry," said Zoey.

I shook my head. "Come on, people, lets focus, we have to move," I said.

"Okay, I'll do it," said Daniel as he went behind the cake to push the trolley it was sitting on. But unfortunately the trolley wouldn't budge.

"Guys, I think we have a problem," said Daniel as he stared at the bottom of the trolley.

"I can see that," I said as knelt on the cold hard metal floor of the truck to see why the trolley wasn't moving.

I stood up. "I can't see what's wrong with it," I said.

"Maybe the cake weighs a hundred tonnes or something," said Zoey.

"If you think so, then help me push this thing," said Daniel.

Zoey went over to join Daniel and the two held the metal handle of the trolley and they pushed it together. The trolley moved a little but that was it. It went back to its position.

"This is so annoying," said Zoey as she stared up at the cake. "What is this thing made of?"

I looked at the trolley, then at the cake. I swiped some cream from the bottom part of the cake like Daniel had done earlier. I tasted it. It was cake, alright. I looked at the trolley. It was the usual serving trolley that food restaurants use and there were similar ones in the kitchen. But how could two objects that couldn't even weigh close to a ton, be so heavy to move?

"Scoot over, Zoey," I said as I joined the two at the back of the trolley. We all held the handle and started to push.

But to our own bad luck, it still didn't move as much.

"I think we need help," said Daniel.

"Good call, let's just tell the driver," I said as I started my way out of the truck.

But just before I could get out, Mike and Christine appeared by the loading bay.

"Hey guys," said Mike. "Don't tell me you're planning to eat the cake without us."

"Wow, the cake is so huge," said Christine as she stared at the cake with stars in her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"We came to help out with the cake," said Mike.

"But how did you know that we were having trouble with the cake when we just got here a few minutes ago?"

"Does that matter?" Chritine asked. "Lee was wondering what was taking you so long, so we came down here to check up on you and help out if need be."

I raised an eyebrow. Something was going on here. It wasn't like the three of us in the truck had been gone for half an hour for Lee to send anyone to check up on us. Something was up but I couldn't tell what.

"Is the driver outside?" I asked.

Christine looked round the corner of the truck. "Yes, he is," she answered. "But he's on the phone."

"Goodness," I muttered to myself. "We need to move this cake out of here and for some reason we can't."

"Why?" Mike asked.

"It's stuck," said Daniel. "The trolley, I mean."

"Huh? How can it be stuck? You guys just don't have the energy."

Zoey came from behind the cake and stood in the open where Mike could see her. "Well, if you think we're lying, why don't you come here and try it yourself."

"Sure," said Mike as he came into the truck. "This will be a piece of cake."

I didn't like the fact that Mike and Christine were here. Lee would have sent anyone else from the party, not these two.

When Mike got behind the cake and tried to push the trolley, he realised that we weren't kidding at all.

"Okay, are you guys playing a prank on me?" he asked as he straightened up after trying to push the trolley.

"And why would we play a prank on the master of all pranks?" Zoey asked. "We know that if we do, you'll prank us so bad that we wouldn't even see it coming."

Mike looked at Zoey and knew that she was telling the truth. I nodded my head when he turned to look at me.

"Are you serious?" asked Christine who still stood outside the truck. "The trolley can't move at all?"

"No, trust me, the three of us tried pushing it together, but it wouldn't even move far," said Daniel.

"Okay, now that we're all here, let's push this thing together," Mike suggested.

"I don't think it's a good idea," I said as soon as Mike had finished his sentence.

All the other four Toxins looked at me.

"Why? We really need to get this cake upstairs," said Christine.

"But can't you see that something weird is going on? For starters, how come we all can't push the trolley? It's not like the cake weighs a metric tonnes. I feel someone is trying to trick us or trap us or something."

Everyone grew silent as they looked at me, then amongst themselves.

"I'm with Sam on this one," said Daniel. "Come to think of it, we only tried moving this thing three times and we never called anyone for help."

"And you two show up out of the blue," said Zoey, realising that what I was saying might be true.

"And to add it all up, it's not a good sign that all five of us are here," I said. "If I were Lee, I would send someone else to check up on us and not Mike because he is the DJ of the party."

"Do you think Lee has something planned for us?" Christine asked.

"Well, I can't tell for sure," I said. "But why make the trolley stuck here? It looks like they want us trapped in the truck."

We all looked at each other and the others knew I was right. Why make the trolley get stuck in the first place when they all wanted the five of us to be in the same place?

"Could Lee have planned this?" Zoey asked.

"There's only one way to find out," I said.

"And what's that?" Mike asked.

"Go with the flow."

"Huh?" the four Toxins looked at me like I had gone nuts.

"It's the only way, I mean, it's obvious that we're supposed to get trapped here and the driver isn't going to help, so let's just get on with it. Besides, today is full of surprises already, considering the call I got from Jungkook and BigBang's supposed surprise, we need to see where this will take us."

"Wait, BigBang have a surprise for us?" Mike asked.

"I should think so."

"What if it could be either one of them pulling this off?" Daniel asked.

"That's what we're going to find out. So, let's get on with it. Christine get in."

"What? I'm not going in there," said Christine.

"It's not like you're claustrophobic. Just come in and let's try to pull the trolley again."

"This is going to be fun," said Zoey as she giggled.

"I wonder where we're going," said Mike.

"Why can't we push this thing one more time?" I asked as I winked at the four Toxins.

They knew it was time to go with the flow, so they also played along.

"Okay, let's do it," said Daniel.

Mike, Zoey and Daniel positioned themselves behind the cake, Christine and I were on either side of it and we started to push the trolley with all we could, but still it couldn't move.

As we were pushing, we heard metal clanking against metal. I looked up and saw that the door of the container was closed. We were locked in. Everyone stopped pushing as they stared at the closed door.

"Hey, hey! Let us out of the here!" I screamed as I also started to hit the walls of the container.

The others started to shout out for help as well. The next thing we knew, the truck's engine rolled to life and the truck started to move. We had to hold on with our backs against the wall as we felt the truck turn round a corner. For a moment, the five of us were quiet.

"Oh, my goodness," said Christine who stood next to me. "I've never rode behind a delivery truck before."

"Same here," said Mike who was on the other side.

"I can't wait to see where we're going," said Daniel with an excited look on his face as he stood to my right.

"Me too, this is pretty exciting," said Zoey who stood beside Mike.

"Well, this is fun considering Sam figured out that all this will lead to some kind of a surprise," said Mike.

"Awww, Sam, you're so smart," said Zoey as she smiled at me.

"Well, let's not get our hope's up," I said. "We might just be taken for slaughter."

"Don't say that, Sam," said Christine. "You'll make me feel all this was bad a idea."

"Shouldn't we be acting scared at least?" Daniel asked. "We wouldn't like the driver thinking we know what's going on."

"We can, but not too much," I said as I looked at him. "Though he might not hear us at some point because of the noise of the engine."

Daniel hit the wall of the truck's container. "Let's us out please!" he shouted.

"This better be one hell of a surprise," said Zoey.

"Well, now that we know, it doesn't feel much of a surprise anymore," I said. "We will be surprising them that we knew about the surprise."

"True," said Daniel.

"Whoever it is, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces," said Mike. He went on hitting the wall and shouting for help.

I also couldn't wait to see who planned all this. They did well to trap us all here but then we all knew what was coming. I just hoped that the surprise at the other end will be what we never expected.


	25. Chapter 24: A Double Surprise

We felt the truck pull to a stop and for a moment, we thought maybe the truck had stopped by a traffic light or was held up in traffic like it had a couple of times before. But this time, the engine died down and there was silence. The five of us Toxins looked at each other wondering what was going on.

"Guys," said Mike as he first broke the silence. "I'm scared."

"I feel like I'm in a horror movie," said Zoey.

"I wonder where we are," said Daniel.

"Sam might be right. They just brought us out here to be slaughtered," said Christine.

"It was only a joke, Christine," I said.

"Well, if we think so, Christine, at least I'll have cake to eat before I die." Daniel approached the cake and I quickly held his shoulder and drew him back.

"Sam!" he complained as he looked at me.

"Are we forgetting something?" I asked. "We're supposed to be acting scared. Now that the truck has stopped, the driver will probably be wondering why we are so quiet."

"Oh, right," said Zoey. "Besides, this isn't fun anymore and I really want to get out of here, so..." She turned around and started to bang on the walls of the container, "...HEY, LET US OUT OF HERE!"

We continued to bang on the walls and calling out for help but there was no response from the outside.

"Do you have your phone with you, Mike?" Christine asked. "We really need to call for help."

"Sorry, I left mine with my laptop at the party," said Mike. "Or else I would have called earlier."

"And Lee said there will be no need for us to have phones while we party so she took all of ours," said Daniel.

"I guess Lee was in on this surprise and took our phones away," I said. "Really clever of her."

"Well, this is bad," said Mike. "It feels like there is no one out there."

"The way I see it, they're keeping us in here longer to make us feel more scared."

"They are doing a pretty good job if you ask me," said Christine.

"Well, we have been screaming our lungs out even on the road and now that we are wherever we are, they still don't want to let us out," said Mike.

"This is why I'm telling you, it's best to eat the cake because this might be our last day on earth," said Daniel.

"Well, people love the fact that they might be dying today," I said as I looked at Daniel.

"I'm just hungry."

I smiled. "I know."

"Now what are we going to do?" Zoey asked as she looked at me. "It's starting to get hot in here. We might just run out of air if they keep us in here any longer."

"We wait. Even if we might just end up losing enough oxygen."

"How are you so calm? What if these people really kidnapped us or something?" Christine asked.

"If they did, they would have immediately gotten us out of the truck by now."

"Well, I'm still not counting on it," said Zoey. "I just want to get out of here."

"We will soon," I said as I stared at the ceiling of the container wondering what was going on out there.

"Should we sing our way out of here like they do in the movies?" Daniel suggested.

We all turned to look at him wondering where he got that idea from.

"Huh?" Mike had his eyebrow raised staring at his young brother. "No, that's ridiculous."

"Don't say it, I know, I'm crazy," said Daniel.

"Or just plain hungry because you don't have enough sugar in that brain of yours," said Christine.

Daniel scratched his head. "I guess so."

"We know you want to eat cake, Daniel," I said.

"Dang it!" Daniel muttered to himself as he stomped his foot on the metal floor.

"I feel like we've been in here FOREVER!" Zoey emphasised as she turned around to hit her forehead on the cold metal wall of the container.

"We should be out right about now," I said.

"How do you know?" Mike asked. "Let's face it, Sam, this isn't a surprise at all."

"Ssssh," I warned him telling him to be quiet.

Then we heard a sound of something hitting the wall of the container. For a moment, we all thought it was Zoey hitting her head again.

"Can you stop doing that?" Mike asked as he looked at her. "You're going to crack that head of yours open and nobody wants to see your brains."

"What's your problem?" Zoey asked as she turned to look at Mike. "I didn't do anything."

"You didn't bang your head against the wall again?" Daniel asked.

The noise came again before Zoey could answer, and this time, we all fell silent as we looked at each other.

None of us had hit the wall this time.

The noise came again.

"Is someone outside?" Zoey asked.

"Obviously," said Mike as he rolled his eyes at her. "We're inside this container so there's probably someone out there."

Someone continued to hit the wall of the container and this time, it became constant. The noise was coming from Zoey and Mike's side of the wall.

"Hey, can you help us out!" Zoey called out as she hit the wall.

Expecting a response back from the outside, no sound came. The banging stopped.

"What's going on? Is the person gone?" Daniel asked.

Then the noise came on the other side where Christine, Daniel and I were. The noise soon continued constantly and this time on both sides.

"What are they trying to do?" Mike asked. "Trying to hit the container until it caves in?"

"Well, whatever they are hitting the truck with, isn't leaving a dent on the walls," I said. "They are just trying to scare us."

"They are going to beat us to a pulp," said Christine.

"No, they aren't," I said.

The banging on both sides of the container became louder. I could tell from the other's faces that they were scared. I should also be in their shoes. But I wasn't going to let my guard down.

We soon heard metal clanking against metal and we all turned to look at the door of the container. I came to stand in the middle facing the door and the other four Toxins huddled themselves close to me, looking scared. Someone was now opening the door and the others outside kept on banging on the walls.

"I should have taken karate lessons," said Mike.

"Ya, mum really emphasised on that," I said.

"I should have too," said Christine.

"Guys, no matter what happens, dying with you will be an honour," said Zoey.

"Really?" I looked at Zoey who was close to me with an eyebrow raised. "You sound like those people from the movies."

"She's not the only one who is afraid," said Christine. "I wonder why you're so calm."

"I don't know about you, but I think your instincts went a little haywire this time, Sam," said Mike.

"I don't blame you," I said as I shrugged my shoulders and stared at the door.

"But I trust you, Sam," said Daniel.

"What do you think they are going to do to us?" Zoey asked.

"Surprise us," I answered.

The next thing we knew, the door of the container rolled up and a bright light blinded us. We had been kept in the dark for so long, it feel like we hadn't seen the light in days. The banging on the walls still went on.

We held up our hands to our eyes to shield off the light. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the light, I slowly put down my hand. Someone had climbed into the truck but I couldn't tell who it was because the light only hit the person's back and not the face. It felt like I was looking at a shadow.

"Excuse me," I started to speak as I dropped my hand completely. "Where are we?"

The person just stood there without saying a word. I could tell the person was a man by his posture and physique. I couldn't help but feel that I knew the person who was standing there.

"Do you think he's going to kill us?" Zoey whispered in my ear. I almost jumped in fright. For a moment, I forgot that she was even there.

"No," I whispered back. All this was just to scare us and we knew it. Though it seemed like the other Toxins apart from Daniel and I were thinking otherwise.

The man in front of us just stood there and he raised his hand. The banging on the walls stopped and the five of us wondered what he was going to do next.

The man snapped his fingers and soon, people appeared from outside the truck and entered the container. There were probably five or six of them and they approached us. It was then that we noticed that the people that had come in were wearing black clothes and black masks over their faces.

One of them got to me first and held my hand. I tried to pull away but another man quickly came and put something over my head. I realised that I couldn't see a thing. I had a black cotton sack over my head.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

Things happened so fast when I was blinded. The person holding my hand, quickly put both of my hands behind my back and I felt him tie them with what felt like plastic cuffs. He dragged me forward with his hand holding my arm, obviously leading me out of the truck's container.

I heard noises of struggle behind me. That meant the others were also being blinded and tied up like I was.

The man leading me out of the container, stopped and I heard him drop down from the truck onto the ground. I was soon lifted out of the truck and my feet soon touched the ground. The man soon took me by the arm and we walked a few feet away from the truck until we stopped.

I could hear the other's voices behind me and some seemed to be struggling with their captors. I could hear Zoey's voice and she sounded frustrated and angry.

I was focused on the other's voices behind me when I felt my captor's hands on my shoulders and felt him push me downwards. I was seated on what felt like a chair. Soon, I felt the person tie me to the chair with rope.

By the sound of voices and quick feet, I knew the others were approaching.

"Where are we?" I asked the man who was tying my feet to the chair. "Are you going to hurt us?"

"It's best you keep quiet and talk when you're told to," said the man as he was done tying me up and I heard him walk away.

I couldn't help but feel that the man who had tied me sounded familiar. His voice was rough and gruff but somehow I could tell that he only sounded like that just to hide his voice. I smiled a little when I realised that I might know who the person was.

The Toxins came to join me and sitting on chairs and tied up like I was. Zoey sat on my left and Christine on my right.

"Oh my goodness, it's so dark," said Zoey. "I hate the dark."

"But you manage to sleep in the dark," I said.

Zoey gasped and I felt her move on her chair beside me. "Sam, you're alive!"

"Quiet down!" came a huge voice, probably from one of our captors.

Zoey winced. "Sorry," she said quietly. "Sam, you're alive, I thought of the worst when they took you first."

"I'm fine as you can hear," I said.

I heard Daniel behind me like he was about to laugh.

"What are you laughing at now?" Christine asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Sam just said something funny."

"At least someone is getting a load off after being captured," said Mike.

"This isn't half bad if you ask me."

"Quiet, all of you!" came the voice again.

"Eish, is it wrong not to talk?" Zoey asked.

"You will talk when the boss gets here," came another voice. I recognised that voice as well.

"Where is this boss of yours, then?" Zoey asked. "Some of us would really want to know what's going on here."

"Zoey's right," I said. "Why are we here?"

"You will know soon enough," the same man spoke again. This was almost too easy. If the other Toxins couldn't figure this out, then I don't know what they were thinking. I wanted to burst out laughing but I held it all in.

We soon heard the sound of footsteps. I turned my head in the direction of the sound. There seemed to be more than two people coming towards us. I wondered who they were.

The people walking towards us stopped. From where I was seated, I could tell they were right behind me. For a moment, the whole place was quiet as if everyone had held their breaths in for a moment.

"I'm glad I finally get to meet The Toxins," said a man's voice. Sounded like he was the one in charge. "I've to confess, I'm a fan of your music."

"I don't know if saying thanks will be appropriate at this point," I said, trying to figure out who was speaking.

"No need," said the boss. "Let's get to know each other, shall we?" I heard him snap his fingers. "Remove the sacks."

Immediately the order was made, I heard footsteps and I felt my sack being pulled upwards away from my face. A strong ray of light hit me in the eyes and I had them shut for a moment because the intensity was just too much and my eyes started to water.

"Goodness," I heard Christine beside me mutter to herself. Looked like she was also blinded by the light.

I gave my eyes some time to adjust to the light and once they did, I realised what looked like a stage camera light had been placed in front of us.

"Hello, Toxins," said the boss as he walked around us and came to stand in front of me. Just like his comrades, he also had a black mask on. "It's nice we could finally meet in person."

"Well, it would have been nice if we could see your face," said Zoey.

"Well, you're the ones who are tied up so, you don't get to decide on things," said the boss as he looked at Zoey.

I heard Zoey gulp. "Point taken," she said.

"Good," said the boss, I noticed him smile by the look in his eyes. "That wasn't too hard to understand, was it?"

Zoey quickly shook her head. Mike almost burst out laughing behind me but his laugh came out as a snicker.

"What is it? What are you laughing at?" the boss asked as he looked over at Mike.

"Nothing," said Mike, as he controlled himself. "It's just that, Zoey finds it hard to understand things sometimes."

Zoey growled. And if she wasn't tied up, she would have hit Mike with her hand. "You're so ungrateful," she said to him. "You know pretty well that I'm not dumb."

"Of course, you aren't. For now, at least."

"Oh, if I wasn't tied up, I would have really dealt with you."

"Enough threatening," said the boss. "I'm the one who's supposed to be doing that around here."

"Will you tell us now what's going on?" I said. I looked at the man carefully, wondering who was behind that mask.

"Gladly," said the boss as a chair was offered to him by one of his masked men and he sat down directly facing me. "Someone wants to get rid of you."

"Huh?" Christine and Zoey both asked at the same time. I wondered how my brothers back there were taking the news. I wasn't buying it, as usual.

"Who wants us killed?" Daniel asked.

"Ya, I'm really curious," I said, almost rolling my eyes.

"Are you going to chop our heads off and hang them out for everyone to see?" Zoey asked sounding scared.

"I think if we were dealing with ISIS that would definitely happen."

"We aren't dealing with ISIS, are we?"

I looked at the gang in front of me. They were our friends under those masks and I so much as wanted as to blurt out that I already knew what was going on.

"No, they don't look like ISIS to me," I said as I looked at Zoey.

"But they are going to kill us," said Zoey.

The boss in front of me chuckled. "For people who are facing their deaths, you seem quite chatty."

"That's how we are sometimes," said Daniel. "May I ask? Can we eat the cake before we die?"

For a moment, everyone was silent. Someone coughed. I couldn't tell who it was but it was definitely among the captors dressed in black. He probably wanted to laugh out loud but couldn't.

"Let's get to business, shall we?" the boss insisted as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Two of his comrades came to stand beside him, one to the left and the other on the right. And this time, they held out machine guns, pointing at us.

Zoey almost screamed but she ended up squeaking instead. I could feel Christine beside me grow stiff. I bet Mike who was seated next to her also felt her stiffen because he asked:

"Hey, what's up, Christine?"

"Guns," Christine replied.

"Ya, you guys talk way too much," said the boss. "Maybe if I show you that I mean business, you can take me seriously."

"Okay, we take you seriously," said Zoey. "Daniel isn't going to ask for cake again."

"What? He clearly isn't just talking about me asking for cake," said Daniel.

"Guys, enough," I said. I turned back to the boss. "We are all ears. Who wants to get rid of us?"

"It's nice to have someone to get us back on track," said the boss as he looked at me. "So, I received a call from someone a few days ago asking me to get rid of you. Says you're a menace to him and to society."

"That doesn't give a valid reason as to why the person would get rid of us," I said. "The person needs to hate us a whole lot to do so."

The boss raised his finger, pointed it at me and smiled. "Good point," he said. "I was a little surprised at first because a lot of people prove to be a menace and some of them aren't superstars like you."

"A reason why our manager calls us monkeys," Zoey muttered as she looked up at the dark ceiling above us.

"But there was one thing the person mentioned though," said the boss as he leaned back in his chair. "That you're the reason he's rotting away in a cell."

There was silence amongst us Toxins. We put someone away in jail? Who?

"This is ridiculous," said Christine. "Who could we have possibly put away and now wants payback?"

"As far as I've known, we're really sweet people," said Mike.

"Totally sweet people," said Daniel.

"Jehan," Zoey answered suddenly.

My heart skipped a beat. Of course. Jehan was the only person we ever put away in jail.

The boss clapped his hands. "Very good, Zoey," he said. "Looks like you're smart after all."

"Jehan wants us dead?" Daniel asked.

This almost seemed too real. These guys were using Jehan as a way to scare us. I have to admit, that's one pretty good move.

"Yes, he does," said the boss as his eyes slowly turned to Zoey. "Especially Zoey."

"Let them go, they had nothing to do with him," said Zoey.

I rolled my eyes. These guys got us right where they wanted us. Scared. And now, all this felt like a real kidnapping. I wanted to end this right now but it wasn't going to work. I just had to follow through with their surprise.

"That's not going to happen," said the boss as he leaned forward in his chair, taking a good look at Zoey. "You all took part in taking him to jail so all of you have to pay the price."

"Wait a minute," I said, drawing his attention. "We weren't the only ones who took Jehan down, you know?"

The boss turned to look at me. "What do you mean?"

"Ya, Sam, what do you mean?" Zoey asked as she looked at me.

"Oh, I know what she means," said Daniel. "Another group was involved in taking down Jehan and they also deserve to be tied up here like we are."

"Exactly," I said with a smile. If I wasn't wrong, Daniel was probably trying to play these guys along like I was.

"That's so true," said Mike. "It wasn't just us. BigBang was there too."

"Why didn't I think of that," said Zoey shaking her head. I bet if she wasn't tied up, she would have hit her head.

The boss looked at us without saying a word for a moment or two. Then he leaned back in his seat.

"Well, Jehan never told me anything about the others," said the boss. "If he only asked me to get rid of The Toxins, then it must be for a good reason. I get paid really well for following instructions by the book. And I'm going to do just that."

The boss turned to look at two of his men who were standing at either side of him with guns held in their hands. This was it, he was going to give the order to shoot us.

"I would have loved to sit and chat, you're all really fun people, but I have a busy schedule and getting rid of you should be a piece of cake."

"No, this is so unfair," said Daniel. "You get to kill us before we can even eat our cake."

"Really? You're still worried about the cake? Don't worry about it. The thing you should be worried about now are yourselves before I blow your brains out. Oh, and I'll make sure to send Jehan the cake in prison with your heads on it."

"Ill, yuck," said Zoey she stuck out her tongue in disgust. "I think the news of our deaths will be so much better, don't you think?"

The boss quickly stood up from his seat. "Like I said, I follow every instruction by the book. He did say he wanted you guys for dessert, so, I'm going to have to use the cake."

"He's so cynical," said Christine.

"And pretty smart too," said Daniel. "He's going to eat us, that's if he wants to."

"Revenge is best served sweet," said the boss. He looked around and took a few steps towards us. "See you in the after life, Toxins." He turned around, facing his two men with guns, "make sure you aim for their heads."

"Wait, what?" Zoey asked. "You can't do this to us!"

"Oh, I believe I'm about to," said the boss as he turned his head to look at Zoey. "The rest will take care of you now."

The boss turned around to leave while I felt Zoey and Christine beside me try to get out of their seats. They tied us up really well. I also tried to find any loose end with the rope and no luck there.

I heard footsteps behind us and I heard Mike mutter something to himself. Looks like guns were being pointed at my brothers too because I could already hear a corking sound. These people were ready to fire.

"Guys, I'm so sorry for all the things I have ever done to you," said Christine.

"Ya, me too," said Zoey with a scared look on her face. "And I love you guys."

"I do too," said Mike.

"Me three," said Daniel.

I didn't know whether to say something or not. As much as all this was just a surprise, for a moment, everything seemed too real.

"Any last words, Sam?" one of the masked men pointing the gun at me asked.

I shook my head. "No, my friends have said all that was necessary," I said.

"Very well," said the man as he pointed his gun at my head. "Goodbye, then."

I recognised that voice very well and for a minute there, all I wanted was to say his name and get this whole sherade done with. But before I could open my mouth, shots were fired.

Expecting to feel something hard and painful on my head, I felt something light and soft hit my face. Almost like paper. I had my eyes closed for a second immediately after the shots were fired. When I opened them, I realised that I was right this entire time.

Confetti filled the air and they landed all over my head, my lap and my shoulders. I smiled. I knew this was just a surprise to scare us.

"What the-?" Daniel wanted to ask, but stopped himself. "Confetti?"

"Confetti?" Christine beside me opened her eyes and gasped upon seeing confetti all around her. "I thought dying was like lying on a soft cloud or something."

Zoey started to say, "what? Or this was a...?"

"SURPRISE!!"

G-Dragon, who had been the masked man with his rifle in front of me and the rest who were wearing masks, revealed themselves. Surprisingly, the person who had been standing alongside G-Dragon also with a rifle was none other than RM.

"What the....?" Now I was the one who was surprised. I expected those who were at the party to be part of all this and not RM. That's if the whole of BTS were here.

"Namjoon?" Christine and Zoey both said at the same time. They were just as surprised to see him like I was.

RM smiled, his dimples clearly showing on his cheeks. "Yep, it's me," he said.

"Now I see what Jungkook's call was all about," I said. "He was trying to warn us about you guys playing your part in the surprise."

The time Jungkook called us before the party, he was about to tell us something important when all of the sudden, something happened to his phone and the line went dead. I tried calling him back a few times, but his phone was off. I could tell that something was up at that very moment though the others thought it was bad phone network.

"Ya, we had to do something about that," said RM.

"You didn't do anything to him like you did to us, did you?"

"I'm fine," came Jungkook as he came to stand next to RM.

"You were in on this too!" Zoey asked looking surprised at Jungkook as he was also dressed like our captors.

"Ya," Jungkook shrugged his shoulders nervously. "I was actually the one who dragged you out of the truck."

"Seriously?" Zoey complained. "You tied me really hard on the wrists. I'm scared you might have left a bruise."

Jungkook winced. "Sorry."

"Looks like Sam was right again," said Mike. "She hadn't given up on the hunch that you, Jungkook, were about to tell us something really important."

"Ya, we got you guys good," said Mino. I could hear him behind me probably facing Mike and Daniel.

"Ya, you guys were so scared," came Jinwoo's voice, also behind me.

"Now, that we are here," I said. "I can tell who dragged me out of the truck and tied me."

"That's so not possible," said Seungri as he also came to stand in front of the girls and I.

"You wanna bet?" I smiled at him.

"Can she guess while you guys untie us?" Daniel asked. "For k-pop stars you tied us up really well."

"Oh, no they won't," came a familiar voice from a distance. "Not yet, at least."

"Lee?" the five of us Toxins called out as she appeared behind RM and G-Dragon coming from the direction in the darkness beyond where the so-called boss had taken after giving the order to have us all killed.

"You planned this, didn't you?" Mike asked.

"Apparently, yes," said Lee. "But for Sam to realise who had her tied up, looks like she probably figured it out that all this was a fake kidnapping."

"Really?" Taeyang asked.

Now that I realised it, not all of BigBang, WINNER and BTS members were here. I wondered where the whole of BlackPink were. 

"It's true," said Daniel. "From the time we got locked up in the truck, she knew all this was a surprise."

"Huh, no wonder she didn't seem so scared when we pointed the gun at her," said G-Dragon.

"You weren't kidding when you said she was smart," said RM as she looked at G-Dragon.

"Now can I guess who tied me up?" I asked.

Lee rolled her eyes at me. "Okay, fine," she said. "Guess away, smarty pants."

"Seunghoon, where are you?" I called out.

"Goodness," said Seunghoon as he came to stand in front of me. "You knew it was me?"

"Trust me, I could tell who some of you were just by your voices."

"We will try to be more cautious next time," said Taeyang.

"Quick question, though. Who was acting as the boss?"

"I'm glad you didn't figure that out," said Lee with a smirk.

"Well, not everyone who were at the party including BlackPink and some BTS members are here, so, I don't think it will be that hard to figure it out."

"Can I try?" Daniel asked.

"Hold on for a minute, Daniel. Can you please untie us?" Christine asked. "You guys already did enough damage. Sam and maybe even Daniel here might not have been scared but some of us were."

"Should we untie them?" G-Dragon asked Lee.

"Ya, sure, the others are waiting," Lee answered.

RM came to untie me, G-Dragon did the same with Zoey while Jungkook untied Christine. I was the first to stand up after being untied and I saw Taeyang untie Mike and Seunghoon untie Daniel.

"Now can I guess who the boss was?" Daniel asked immediately he stood up from the chair he was tied to.

"Go ahead, tiger," said Seungri. "Give it your best shot."

"It was TOP."

I turned to look at Daniel and apparently, I wasn't the only one looking at him.

"What?" he asked as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Now that you've said it, I should have figured it out sooner." I said. "Not only could TOP hide his face but also could hide his voice really well."

"Aww," came TOP's voice from a distance and he suddenly appeared behind Lee from the darkness. "You two look so adorable when you're thinking smart."

"Thanks," Daniel and I answered at the same time.

"Hold on a minute," said Zoey after vigorously shaking her head. "TOP was the boss?"

"Yep," said Jinwoo and Mino at the same time.

"Now that all this is behind us, where are the others?" I asked.

"Ya, especially the BlackPink members," said Mike.

After Mike's last statement, the lights went on across the room. It was then that I realised where we were.

"Wait a minute, what are we doing here?" I asked.

We were at YG Entertainment and better yet, we were at a place where we never expected to be. In the large scale rehearsal building within YG premises.

"Can someone please answer Sam's question?" Zoey asked.

"Guys, you have to see this," said Mike.

I turned to what Mike was looking at. This was the same rehearsal building in which the set construction was being worked on for the event on Friday. And it was done.

"Wow," said Daniel.

"I've to admit the set looks awesome," said Christine.

"To answer your question, Sam, this was the last piece of the surprise we wanted to show you," said Lee as she came to stand next to me.

"Hey guys!" Jennie called out as she appeared on the stage set with the other three BlackPink members, Daesung, Seungyoon, J-hope, Suga, Jin and V. I noticed J-Hope wearing a cap. The same cap the driver of the truck wore.

"Looks like I just recognised our driver," I said.

"Is it legal to go up there?" Mike asked Lee, his eyes still fixed on the stage. "Won't our managers be mad?"

Lee smiled. "It's actually illegal," she said.

"Then why show it to us?" Zoey asked. "Do you really want us to get into trouble again?"

"Ya," said Christine. "I remember when we first snuck in on our first set last time before our big debut. Just to check it out even when it wasn't ready. And we got punished for it when we got caught."

"Eh, our debut was pretty pathetic anyway," I concluded. "So was the set. But what I am looking at right now, is a masterpiece."

"I'm going to ask this for a second time," said Mike as he turned to look at Lee. "Can we go up there?"

"Do you want to ask a third so as to know I'm not lying?" Lee asked.

"I think it's pretty clear," said G-Dragon. "We can all go up there."

"This is going to be fun," said Zoey. "Weren't they going to show this to us tomorrow?"

"Rumour has it, that yes, they were," said Seunghoon.

"Well, this is one cool way of continuing the party," said Christine as she started her way towards the construction set with Zoey.

Jinwoo, Seunghoon and Mino followed with Mike and Daniel as they talked about the fake kidnapping. Jimin and Jungkook also joined them and their conversation.

"May I ask something?" I asked as I looked at Lee. "Why did you bring Jehan into the picture?"

"Me?" Lee asked with her hand on her chest surprised by my question.

"Of course you. The kidnapping seemed more real when TOP mentioned him."

"To be honest, that's the only time I saw Sam scared," said TOP. "The whole time she was just stoic until I mentioned his name."

"That's true," said Taeyang.

"Fine," said Lee as she rolled her eyes. "I told TOP to being Jehan into the picture because we only dealt with him a few weeks ago and memories of him were still fresh in your minds."

"Especially, Zoey," said G-Dragon.

"This Jehan must really have spooked her out before to get all nervous," said RM. "Luckily, she didn't get a heart attack."

"Do you know the whole story?" I asked looking at RM.

"Not really. Lee did mention him as a criminal you guys knew. To be honest, I didn't know you guys dealt with bad guys."

I gave out a mocking laugh. "You have no idea."

The news of Jehan's arrest didn't make much of a public fiasco because the authorities were careful enough to leave out Zoey and the rest of The Toxins and BigBang out of police statements they presented to the press. Or some might say treated they us as anonymous. Only a few knew the whole story. It was best not to mention Zoey or any of us involved to the press for who knew what would have become of us right now.

"Okay, enough chit chat," said Taeyang. "Let's go look at the set."

Those of us who remained behind started to make our way to the set construction. Those who had gone ahead of us were already on stage, dancing and goofing around. Others just looked around.

Just as I got to the construction set, something crossed my mind and I turned around. RM was right behind me. He was talking with G-Dragon and he stopped when he saw me looking at him.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I asked.

"I'll leave you two," said G-Dragon as he went on with the others on stage, using a small flight of stairs.

"Sure, anything," said RM with a warm smile on his face.

"Why did Lee....?"

Before I could even finish my question, Lee called on the stage.

"Come on, Sam, what are you waiting for?" she called. "Get up here, we all take a selfie."

"Coming," I said. It seems my question was going to be asked another time. RM and I went up on stage and I made sure to take a good look around.

"Do you really want to take a photo of us on set?" Lisa asked. "If we post those photos online, our managers will behead us."

"And this time, they will put our heads on a cake for sure," said Daniel.

"That's why, I'm taking the photos with my phone and so, I'll send them after the event," said Lee as she placed her phone on a selfie stick.

"This set looks awesome," said Zoey. "I can't wait for the actual day."

"Okay, people, gather around," said Lee as she went to stand ahead of us on the stage. "We need to take selfies. Lots of them."

After a few minutes of taking selfies, Lee announced that it was time to leave. I couldn't agree with her more. We had spent so much time here and anyone, maybe even the staff workers might find us.

"Does that mean we're going to have cake back at the hotel?" Daniel asked.

"Yep, and we better hurry," said Lee. "There are cars waiting outside and they will take us back. Don't worry, Daniel, the cake is already there."

Just as people were walking off stage, I noticed RM with Suga. Just before they could turn and leave like everyone else, I caught up with them.

"Hey, you two," I said as I stood in front of them.

"Wow, that was pretty fast," said Suga, with his eyebrow raised and with a slight smile on his face. I had to admit, that look was pretty cute that I almost blushed.

"If you're talking about my speed, I don't know how I do it," I said. "I want to know something."

"Ah, your question," said RM as he remembered. "Ask away."

"I know Lee bringing us here was all but a surprise for The Toxins and these other guys, but why did she let you, BTS, be in on this?"

"Sam, Suga, RM!" Lee called out. "Come on, I have to lock up the place!"

Dang it! If only Lee could hold on for just a few minutes.

Suga saw my frustration and he quickly came close to me and whispered in my ear, "that's another surprise for another day."

My eyes couldn't help but bulge after his answer. What did he mean? He slowly drew away from me, still with a corky smile on his face and made his way down the stage with RM right behind him.

I was left still wondering when I realised I was all alone and almost everyone had left. RM and Suga were almost out of the building. I walked down the stage and turned to look back at it for a last time.

"Sam, are you coming or what?" RM asked as he stood by the huge doors of the set construction building with Lee and Suga.

"Coming," I said as I ran towards them, still not feeling satisfied that I didn't get the answer I was looking for.

Or did I?


	26. Chapter 25: Getting Ready

"Hey, Sam," said Zoey who was sitting next to me. "Aren't you excited about tomorrow?"

I turned to look at her with a smile on my face and said, "you know I am."

"Okay, so we're going to have to perfect everything today. This means we might use the beautiful set we saw yesterday, right?"

I hit Zoey on her knee warning her to keep quiet. Collins was just sitting in front of us in the front passenger's seat. Lucky enough, he didn't hear anything because he had headphones in his ears. He was listening to the news on his tab.

"What?" Zoey asked. "He hasn't heard what we just said. He's too busy listening to the news."

"FYI," said Lee behind us seated with Christine, "he can still catch you when you least expect it. You haven't been with the man for a long time like I have. Sometimes when you think he isn't listening, he is."

"We know," I said. "I've been on that receiving end a couple of times."

"Gosh, everyone is talking about the big day tomorrow," said Christine who seemed less interested about what Lee, Zoey and I were talking about. She was focused on the phone.

"Ya, well, they will be in for a surprise of a lifetime," said Zoey.

"Because of BTW?" I asked. "Well, it's supposed to be a secret. No one should know about it."

"Courtesy of our managers who wanted it that way. But I bet it's going to be great, considering that it's a surprise."

"Ya, you're right," said Christine. "Just thinking about tomorrow is giving me goosebumps. I can't wait to see the entire music video."

"Same here," said Mike who was with Daniel at the last seats of the car.

"Well, we better make it perfect then," said Lee. "Before you even start with rehearsals, we have to run you through with some few details."

"Why?" I asked. "We've been told everything we need to know and now we just have to do it on set. I don't think it will be that difficult."

"Let's just say, there are a few adjustments that have to be made."

"What adjustments?" Daniel asked this time around. He was so focused with playing a game on his phone that you wouldn't think he was listening.

"I'm afraid I can't say. I'm not the one who's supposed to tell you."

We were all quiet. Then Zoey and I turned to look at Lee. A few seconds later, Christine and Daniel looked up from their phones, their eyes now on her. Mike had been looking out the window and he soon turned to look at her.

Lee looked at each one of us with a surprised look on her face.

"What?" she asked as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Why are you so secretive?" Mike asked. "You always keep us wondering what's going on."

"And yesterday, you even had us kidnapped," said Daniel, "that was still being secretive."

"Daniel, it was a surprise," said Lee.

"Aren't all surprises a secret among people who plan the surprise? They don't tell anyone they are planning the surprise for."

Lee paused. "To be honest, I didn't really think it that way."

"Aren't you going to tell us what's going on?" Zoey asked. "Why add adjustments now on the last day?"

"I'm also wondering," I said.

"Guys, you can attack me all you want," said Lee. "But I can't tell you. Your managers planned this, not me."

"And we can't ask Collins," said Christine. "We only have you to ask."

"Oh, I also have another question," I said as I raised up my hand as though I was a student in a classroom. "It's concerning yesterday."

"I think I know the question you're about to ask, Sam," said Lee.

"How?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I just know. And I'm not going to answer if you ask me."

"Why?" I felt even more confused.

"Because we have finally arrived at our destination."

I moaned in frustration as I looked out the car window. Just great!

"Okay, everyone," said Collins as he turned to look at us after putting his tab away. "You know the drill. This is the final day and everything has to be perfect. So, go do what you do best."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" the five of us Toxins exclaimed with excitement.

We all got out of the car and went straight to the YG building to get changed in the dressing rooms. After changing, we soon started our way to the rehearsal building.

"Do we have to act surprised when we see the construction set?" Daniel asked.

"We have to," I said. "What choice do we have?"

"We are so early today," said Christine. "Do you think the others have arrived too?"

"Well, we were the only ones in the changing rooms apart from a few trainees," said Mike. "I didn't see any of the people we are working with there."

"Mmmm, same here," I said. "Looks like we are pretty early today."

The rehearsal building was just within our sight when Zoey muttered something to herself. We all heard her. And we knew why.

Standing at the door of the building was Ji Yeon, A.K.A Miss Sharky, with her co-worker, Ji Nun. The two were talking to each other until they saw us coming towards the building.

"Goodness," said Zoey as she tried to put up a smile for Ji Yeon and Ji Nun to see. "Seeing her right now is giving me the creeps."

"You really exaggerate sometimes," I said. "To be honest, she isn't half as bad as you think."

"Really?" Zoey turned to look at me. "I never thought you liked her that much."

"All I'm saying is, yes, she's tough, but she's a good choreographer. Just because she's tough doesn't make her a bad person."

"Sam's right," said Christine. "She just makes us work too much because of the event. Maybe you should try liking her for just a second, Zoey."

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Maybe," she said.

When we got closer to the entrance of the rehearsal building, the two choreographers continued to look at us. Ji Yeon even had her hands on her hips.

"Morning, Toxins," she said as she put up a smile on her face. She barely smiled in the few days we had worked with her.

"Good morning," the five of us replied. We also greeted Ji Nun who gladly smiled at us.

"Glad to see that you're early," said Ji Yeon. "We have a lot to do today."

"The others aren't here yet?" Mike asked.

"No," said Ji Nun. "And you guys are lucky to be early. That means you will get to see the completed construction set first."

Christine and Zoey smiled and jumped with glee. I had to admit, they were pretty good actresses, acting all excited about the the construction set when we had already seen it.

"Sounds awesome," I said with a smile. "I can't wait to see it."

"Me too," said Daniel, also sounding excited.

"Alright, then, shall we?" Ji Yeon insisted as Ji Nun led the way inside.

The huge space in the building was almost occupied with staff members and the camera crew, walking up and down the place, setting up lights next to the construction set for the filming tomorrow. We looked on at the construction set and we couldn't help but feel excited even if we were seeing it for the second time.

"Wow," said Daniel. "The set looks awesome!"

"Beautiful," said Zoey, with stars in her eyes.

"I can't believe we will be dancing on the set tomorrow," said Mike.

"Alright, let's go on stage," said Ji Nun. "I hope Lee informed you that there will be a few changes to the routine you're all going to do tomorrow."

"Yes, she did," I said.

"Then follow us, please."

The five of us Toxins followed our two choreographers up the stage and we went around admiring the set that we had already seen. After a minute and a half of looking around, we heard Ji Yeon clap her hands drawing our attention to her.

"Okay, you've looked around enough," she said. "Now gather around so that we tell you the adjustments we have made."

"Do the adjustments have to do with our dance routine?" Zoey asked as we all approached the two choreographers.

"Not entirely. Let's just say we are introducing something new in the mix."

"What is it?" Christine asked.

Ji Yeon and Ji Nun looked at each other for a bit. There was something off about their look. It was as if they were scared that what they were going to say might not be good for our ears.

"Can you please tell us?" Daniel asked. "The suspense is killing us."

"Okay, we will tell you," said Ji Nun. "Apparently, your managers wanted to introduce another K-Pop group in the event tomorrow."

"Oh," I heard myself saying. That didn't sound half as bad as I thought.

"Oh, really?" Zoey asked. "Which group is it?"

"I bet it's YG's very own," said Mike.

"iKON, maybe?" Daniel suggested.

"We can't be sure," I said. "Let Ji Yeon finish." I went on to look at her. "Do we know who they are?"

"Yes," she answered. "It's BTS."

"Wait, what?" I asked hoping that I didn't hear her right. "Did you just say BTS?"

"Yep," said Ji Nun as he stared upwards.

I looked over at the my group members and they looked just as surprised. Zoey and Daniel had both of their mouths open. Mike and Christine looked like they were just about to pass out.

"Guys?" I called out to them as I waved a hand across Christine who was standing next to me. She didn't notice it until I shook her.

"Huh?" she looked at me like she had woken up from a dream. "Did I hear right, Sam? BTS will be coming to perform on the set?"

"Yes."

"Oh," was all she said before she looked like she was about to pass out again.

"Wow," said Daniel. "I don't know whether to be happy or surprised or.... I don't know."

"Well, you should have seen the look on our faces when we were told the news," said Ji Nun. "It's great, but we had so much to do preparing for this event at such a short period of time and bringing in BTS...., to be honest, I don't know what to say."

I knew exactly what he meant. The news of BTS joining the programme sounds exciting, maybe for outsiders. For us involved, it sounded great but again, rather overwhelming. The event was meant for the release of the single and most importantly, introducing BTW to the world. BTS weren't related to either of the two and for me, it seemed a little weird for them to be involved.

It was then that I knew why BTS were here yesterday. They were also going to perform tomorrow.

"Okay, well, this is interesting," said Zoey.

"May I ask why the managers did this?" Mike asked.

Ji Yeon shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows," she said. "But let's look at the bright side. As much as BTS isn't related to why this event is taking place, its going to attract a large audience."

"I agree," I said. "The two managers must have thought really hard about this. Bringing in a group like BTS would make a huge impact."

"Makes sense now," said Zoey. "For a moment, I thought they might just end up joining BTW."

"That can't happen and you know it," said Christine.

"Was just saying. Now that it's sinking in, it will be fun to have them on stage. I never imagined dancing alongside BTS."

"Ya, you're right, Zoey," said Mike. "It will be awesome."

"Let's stick to the positive side of this and it will be fun for all of us," I said.

"Ya, well, Sam, you better break the news to everyone else when they get here," said Daniel. "When you explain the reason, they will listen to you."

"Fine," I rolled my eyes. "Let's get to work, shall we? And remember, let's be positive about this."

"That's what I like to hear," said Ji Yeon with an encouraging smile on her face. "You heard Sam, let's go!"

We soon got ready for practice and we danced on set. Ji Yeon and Ji Nun were below the stage, looking on as we performed. So far, they were impressed that they told us to do it all over again. Just as we were performing for the second time, BigBang, BlackPink and WINNER soon appeared by the construction set.

Ji Nun gave out a signal to us on stage with his hand to continue and not get distracted by the sight of those who just came in. We went on without stopping.

As soon as we were done, there came a round of applause from those who were watching us. The five of us Toxins gathered together, holding hands and taking a bow.

"Thank you," said Zoey as she curtised. "You're all so wonderful, thank you."

"You guys were incredible," said Daesung. "With your performance, tomorrow would be fantastic."

"Thanks," I said. "But everyone else's performance put together will be amazing."

"Okay, people," said Ji Yeon turning to the three K-Pop groups standing with her down stage. "Let's get ready. I want each group to do their routine before the final part, okay?"

"Umm, may I ask?" Jennie asked. "I heard that there have been some adjustments made on the routine."

"Yes, Sam will tell you about it," said Ji Nun with a genuine smile on his face.

I rolled my eyes. Great. Looks like I had to be the bearer of such news.

"So, Sam, aren't you going to tell us?" Mino asked.

I looked down at the others on stage and I must have hesitated for a bit.

"Please, come on stage," I said. "All of you."

"Okay," said Seunghoon and Seungri at the same time.

Soon enough, all the other three K-Pop groups were on stage, some pretending to admire the place. The other four Toxins were standing alongside me as we looked on at the others.

"Okay, Sam, we are here," said G-Dragon. "Tell us what they told you."

"And speed it up, Sam," said Ji Yeon who remained down stage with Ji Nun. "We don't have all day."

Goodness, this was tougher than I thought. And with Ji Yeon pressuring me to hurry, I almost panicked.

"The adjustment made was about introducing another K-Pop group into the program," I said, nervously. I felt my voice get a little shaky. I seriously didn't want to continue with all this.

"And so...?" Taeyang asked, wanting me to continue.

"And so, the group that will be introduced isn't YG's own, am afraid."

"Which group is it then?" Lisa asked. "It would have made more sense if it was YG's own, right?"

I saw Ji Yeon giving me a signal to speed things up. I turned back to the others in front of me.

"Yes, well, it would," I said. "But it's best to let you know that BTS will be the ones joining us in our program tomorrow."

There was a sudden look on the other's faces that worried me. Some looked shocked, most of them were utterly confused. Anyway, I knew how they were feeling and I couldn't blame them.

"Well, that was fast," Zoey whispered as looked at me.

"And you think our choreographers were merciful to us too?"

Zoey quickly shook her head. I turned to look at those who were still shocked and confused.

"I know you have a lot of mixed feelings right now," I said to them as I took a step towards them. "We were also just as surprised as you. But let's look at the bright side. The managers only did this just to attract more attention. And BTS attracts a lot of attention everywhere. And also, it will be so much fun especially for us, Toxins to not only perform with you guys but alongside BTS as well. I hope you understand."

For a moment, the others were quiet. I hope they weren't going to burst into fury. Some of them must probably be upset right now.

"Okay, I think I understand," said Jisoo.

"Really?" Mike, Daniel, Christine and Zoey asked at the same time.

"Me too," said Rosé with a smile on her face. "I don't think it's much of a big deal. BTS joining us tomorrow will be great."

"I also find it surprising that they will be with us tomorrow," said Seunghoon, "but it's going to be fun, that I know."

The other WINNER and BlackPink members also agreed. I looked on at the BigBang members. Why were they so quiet?

"Ummmm, Taeyang, Seungri?" I called to them first. "What do you think about this?"

"Well, I don't mind," Seungri answered. "Now that you explained it all, Sam, it makes sense."

"Yes, I also agree," said Taeyang.

"TOP, Daesung, GD," I now addressed them. "What do you think?"

TOP shook his head and said, "I've no problem with that. It will take time to sink in, but it's alright with me."

"Same here," said Daesung, giving me a smile.

I turned to look at G-Dragon and he was looking back at me. I couldn't tell whether he was with the idea or not. He was so difficult to read sometimes that I could shake him just for him to tell me his opinion.

"Okay, looks like almost everyone is settled with this," said Ji Yeon as she and Ji Nun quickly came up on stage. "Let's get to work, we have a lot to do."

As much as I wanted to talk to G-Dragon just to be sure he was okay with all this, Ji Yeon told us to go backstage to position ourselves for practice to begin. We went straight to doing so.

I was with Zoey going backstage when she said, "that went well. Daniel was right when he said that you are the only one who can talk to them and they will listen."

"I don't know," I said as I looked behind, trying to see if I could see G-Dragon, but it looked like he had already gone backstage on the other side. "G-Dragon didn't say anything like the others did."

"Don't be worried about him," said Zoey. "He's fine. I don't think he is upset with anything."

"He's unpredictable sometimes. I'm worried that he may look okay with it, but he isn't."

"What are you worrying about now?" Mike asked when Zoey and I joined him and the others backstage. We were together with BlackPink.

"She's worried that just because G-Dragon didn't say anything regarding BTS, he might not be with the idea of them joining us tomorrow."

"Don't worry, Sam," said Jennie. "I don't think he's upset or anything. You're just imagining things."

"Thank you," said Zoey as she looked at Jennie. "I always tell her that but she always wants to listen to her instincts instead."

"Which are always right," said Daniel.

"Okay, guys, let's stop this," I said. "We have to focus."

"Ya, Sam's right," said Christine. "We don't want Ji Yeon here with us, do we?"

Minutes later, we were on with rehearsal. BigBang was going to go on stage first, then the others will follow suite. We realised that our dance routine wasn't the only thing we had to do but others things like our timing on stage and when and how to appear after the next group. I had to admit, it was pretty tiring when we tried it out in the first session. I wondered where BTS would fit themselves in the routine and what song they were going to perform.

Just when Ji Yeon had stopped us just to give a few instructions to us currently on stage, BTS soon came in the rehearsal building accompanied by Lee.

"Guess who's finally here?" Lee announced as she came up on the stage with BTS behind her.

Zoey, Christine, the four BlackPink members and I who were on stage doing our performance before Ji Yeon stopped us, squeaked in excitement upon seeing them. I had to admit, now that they were here, I was pretty excited.

"Girls, calm yourselves, please," said Ji Nun. "BTS, it's good to see you here."

The seven BTS members bowed in appreciation towards Ji Nun and Ji Yeon.

"Okay, I'll leave you guys to do your thing," said Lee as she smiled at BTS. "Have fun."

I looked on at Lee as she went down the stage, heading out of the building. Ji Yeon and Ji Nun first approached BTS obviously making them feel at home and probably giving them a few instructions. Those of us on stage just watched on, hoping that the choreographers would at least give us a chance to talk to them.

"Now I see why you girls were squealing," said Seunghoon as he came from backstage with Seungyoon. "BTS are in the building."

"Well, daaa," said Zoey as she flipped her hair to the side. "Who wouldn't squeal upon seeing them? I even wanted to scream but I had to control myself."

"Because of Miss Sharkey?" Daniel asked.

"No," Zoey gave Daniel a face. "You can't admit that you're also excited to see them too."

"We are," said Mike. "But just to be clear, at least Daniel and I didn't squeal like you did."

"Hey, Seungyoon," I said turning to face him. "Is G-Dragon still back there with you?"

"Yes, he is," Seungyoon answered. "He was watching you guys perform with us but he had a phone call and had to take it."

"Oh," I said as I looked backstage from where the two WINNER members came from. I saw the other two members of WINNER with four other BigBang members. Mino and Seungri waved at me upon seeing my eyes on them. I waved back. G-Dragon wasn't there.

"Okay, guys," came Ji Yeon as she approached us now. "I'll give you a ten minute break before we can do this all over again. This time, with BTS."

"Does it mean we can also talk to them?" Zoey asked, pointing at BTS.

Ji Yeon rolled her eyes. "You can do whatever you want within ten minutes."

"Okay," said Zoey as she quickly went round Ji Yeon and went over to BTS.

"Well, that was quick," said Christine.

I just shook my head. And with Christine, Mike, Daniel, BlackPink, Seunghoon and Seungyoon, we approached BTS.

"Hi, guys," I greeted them.

They all greeted us back. Zoey was clinging onto V like a leech with her arm around his elbow. Didn't want to bother her about it.

"Now I see why Lee brought you here yesterday," I said, "looks like you're also going to be part of the show."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Jimin asked.

"It's actually a good thing," said Jisoo. "Trust me, we are all excited about this, right, guys?"

The rest of us agreed wholeheartedly. I noticed the seven BTS members smile and they looked quite relaxed. I guess they thought we wouldn't agree to the idea of having them tomorrow. I was pretty glad that they now felt at ease with all this. We all did, I guess.

The other WINNER and BigBang members also came over to welcome BTS. But there was still no sight of G-Dragon anywhere. Could he still be on a call?

"Hey," said TOP as he noticed me looking back stage. "What are you looking for?"

"Someone," I answered as I looked at him. "Where's GD?"

"He just went out to take a call. Why? Is he in trouble?"

"Umm, no. I just haven't seen him, that's all."

"He's a big boy, he can take care of himself. I'm the one who needs special attention."

"Haha, very funny, Choi."

I looked over at the people in front of me, engrossed with each other over some conversation. It was nice to see everyone getting along just fine.

"Maybe you can tell me something," I said as I went back to looking at TOP.

"Okay, ask away," he said with a smile.

"I'm a little worried about GD. I fear that he might not like the idea of BTS performing with us tomorrow."

"Really? If he really didn't like the idea, he would have said it out loud before."

"But silence sends a strong message and rather a confusing one. I don't know whether he is with the idea or not."

"And does that really matter?" TOP asked as he shrugged his shoulders.

"It does to me. I don't want any problems, you know?"

"With tomorrow? There will be no problem at all. Besides, if there's something wrong with GD, I would know."

"You're right. You're his friend anyway and you probably know him better than I do."

"Ya, but it seems like you already do. He's so unpredictable sometimes."

"That, I totally agree."

"While we're on a break, I better make use of the restroom real quick. I'll be back shortly."

"Sure."

TOP went out backstage and I went on to look at the others in front of me. I noticed Jungkook turning his head almost immediately my eyes flew to him. Looks like he was trying to avoid my eyes or something. I went over to join the others.

"So, what song are you guys going to perform to?" I asked the BTS members as I stood next to Mino.

"Blood, sweat and tears," Jin answered.

"Aaah! My favourite," I said with so much glee.

"Don't forget, I like that song too," said Zoey.

"We all love that song," said Rosé.

"I'll be dancing to that song backstage," said Christine as she did a little two-step to the left and to the right.

"Jungkook was the one who suggested we perform the song," said RM.

"No, I didn't," Jungkook quickly denied. He was blushing so much that he quickly looked away when all eyes were on him.

"Don't worry, Jungkook," said Daniel. "I think it's a great song choice, I love the song too."

"He once viewed Sam's BTS playlist and he thought it would be nice to perform the song," said J-Hope.

"Hyung!" this time Jungkook was more embarrassed than ever.

Well, looks like someone has been viewing my posts on social media. I was one person who loved to share my playlist with the fans. Most of the time, I would do it for specific artists. And from the time I came to Korea, I had been listening to so much K-pop that I posted some of my favourite playlists. I first posted my BigBang playlist and others, including BTS. Blood, sweat and tears was the first on my BTS playlist. It looks like someone had viewed it and decided to go with the song.

"J-Hope, come on, you're making him blush," said Jennie.

"Don't mind him, Jungkook," I said. "Personally, I'm glad you picked that song. Thank you."

Jungkook looked up at me, his cheeks still fluffy pink. He looked so cute when he blushed. He gave out a shy smile that made him look adorable.

"Okay, enough, guys," said Mike. "Now that BTS are here, I want to learn the choreography done in that song."

"Me too, me too!" Zoey added on excitedly. "You guys just have to teach us."

"But will Ji Yeon allow us, though?" Seungyoon asked. "We only got a few minutes left till our break is over."

"We can teach you, but that will take a lot of time," said Suga.

"If we weren't preparing for the event, J-Hope would have gladly run you through with it," said RM.

"Yes, RM is right," I said. "We really have a lot to do today."

A sound of hands clapping echoed around the hall and most of us knew that hand clap very well. We saw Ji Yeon and Ji Nun come up on stage.

"Okay, guys, let's get started," said Ji Yeon as she stood in front of us. "We're going to run you through the whole thing. And this time, I need you all to cooperate."

"Does that mean, no making mistakes?" Zoey asked. "Because we do make mistakes, a lot."

Ji Yeon had a rather annoyed look on her face. For those who didn't know her very well, they would think she was genuinely just looking at you. Zoey's questions could be so weird and annoying sometimes. If I were her, I would have brought out a sarcastic answer, but thinking that this was the last day of practice and she didn't want to demoralise anyone, she answered:

"Let's not try to make a lot of them, okay?"

Before she could continue talking, TOP and G-Dragon came to join us. I looked at G-Dragon, hoping that I could read his face upon him seeing BTS, but still nothing. Maybe I was just imagining things and I shouldn't worry too much.

We were soon underway with practice and this time, alongside BTS. We went on with practice for such a long time. We had lunch alongside a twenty minute break. During that time, I had my eye on GD. But he didn't seem to do anything weird because he was also interacting with some of the BTS members. That gave me some relief. At least I didn't have to worry about him.... for now.

After lunch we went on with practice till the evening. After practice, we all left YG. After such a long day, Lee advised us to go to bed early after supper. We had a big day tomorrow and the five of us went to bed with so much excitement.


	27. Chapter 26: The Big Day

"Guys, hurry up, we're going to be late! Get out of bed, right now!"

I could hear Lee in my sleep and for a moment, I thought I was really dreaming about her. It actually took me another second to realise that she was in the hall, telling all of us to wake up. I turned around in my bed and opened my eyes a little. I noticed it was almost dawn when I looked at the window that wasn't completely covered by the curtain. Why was she waking us up so early?

I sat up in my bed and checked my phone that was lying on the small drawer next to my bed. It was 5:30 AM. Goodness, it was way too early. We usually woke up at 6:30.

I looked over at Zoey, who was still fast asleep. Looked like she hadn't heard Lee. I wouldn't want to wake her up at the moment, so, I decided to meet Lee in the hall.

"Morning, Sam," she greeted me when I stepped out into the hall. "I knew you would get my wake up call."

I yawned. "I sure did," I said, still feeling very sleepy. "It's so early. Why are you waking us up at this time?"

"Collins said you should all be early. We have to leave the hotel around 6:30. There's a lot to be done."

"Don't remind me. Today's the big day after all."

As I said those words, it slowly came to mind how important this day is. I was now starting to feel more wide awake.

"Leeeee!" came Daniel's sleepy voice from the room the boys were in. He opened the door and in his blue pyjamas and matching blue slippers, he came into the hall.

"Morning, Daniel," said Lee. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you've come to complain about waking up early."

With sleepy eyes, Daniel looked at Lee before rubbing them and looking at her again. "What do you think?" he asked.

"Yes, I know, you're all so sleepy right now, but aren't you excited about your big day?"

"My big day starts at 6:30, not five."

"Tell that to your manager then. Right now I want you two to wake up your roomies. I'm having a hard time waking Christine up myself."

"Zoey isn't going to like this," I said. "She loves her beauty sleep."

"Mike told me he doesn't want to get out of bed, so, he's a lost cause," said Daniel. "At least I'll get to use the shower before he does."

The three of us all went back to our respective rooms. Now, I had to worry about waking up Zoey.

"Zoey, Zoey!" I shook her when I got to her bed.

"Mmmm, Sam?" she called out to me, though she didn't open her eyes. "What's up? I didn't hear the alarm ring."

"Since when were you ever concerned about the alarm? I'm the one who usually wakes you up."

Zoey turned to the other side, her back facing me. "Not all the time," she replied.

"Come on, get up, we have a big day today. We have to be out of here by 6:30."

"You go ahead and take a bath first. I'll wake up when you're done."

"Okay, if you say so. You better be awake."

"I will. It's a big day after all."

I rolled my eyes at her and went straight to the bathroom. Within fifteen minutes of getting ready, the five of us Toxins met in the lounge to have breakfast at the dining table. We found Collins and Lee already at the table.

"Glad you could be here on time," said Collins as we settled.

"Tell me about it," said Zoey. "I still feel so sleepy."

"We all do," said Lee. "If it were up to me, I seriously wouldn't have woken you up early."

"Let's just eat," I said as I took some toast and poured myself a glass of orange juice. "We have to be on schedule."

"Spoken like me," said Lee with a smile.

"You are all supposed to be excited about today," said Collins as he sipped on his coffee. "It seems like you're not."

"Well, as you can see," said Mike, "we woke up too early."

"And my day starts at 6:30," said Daniel as he took a quick glance at his wrist watch. "It's not even that time yet."

"Okay, we get it," said Collins. "You'll all get enough sleep when this is done."

There was something in his voice that made me think he didn't mean what he said on that last part. I looked at him with an eyebrow raised. He noticed me looking at him. He turned his eyes on me.

"What is it, Sam?" he asked.

"You don't mean what you said, do you?" I asked. "I mean, we can't rest because we have a lot of work to do before we go back home."

"You're right."

"How many more weeks till we leave?" Christine asked.

"Three, if not four," said Collins. "Lee can tell you the right number."

"Apparently, we have three weeks and five days," said Lee. "And if we want this thing with BTW to be successful, we have to get to work immediately."

"Enough about that. Eat up, we have a long day ahead."

And we did just that. It was surprising how much time we had left till we finally go back home. But it wasn't the time to start thinking about it. Today was a special day and we had to make the most of it.

We had arrived at YG before seven and the first thing we had to do was meet the organisers for the event. That also meant meeting our managers as well.

We had to meet in the conference board room, the same room the managers had declared that BTW becomes official. We were the first group to arrive as usual, and so, we had to wait for the others.

"Goodness," said Daniel who sat beside me. "Aren't we supposed to be getting ready by now?"

"Our music video doesn't air on YouTube till twelve," I said. "So, we have plenty of time to go through some last minute details."

"I wonder what outfits we're going to wear on set," said Mike.

"I saw them yesterday. They're perfect. Don't worry."

"Now my palms are getting sweaty," said Christine. "It's now kicking in that this day is really important and I'm anxious right now."

"Well, we will be performing with k-pop groups for the first time, so, there's much reason to be anxious."

The door to the conference room flew open behind me and the BigBang members came in.

"Morning, everyone," greeted Seungri as he reached me from behind by grabbing my shoulders. Before I could respond, he planted a quick kiss on my right cheek. I blushed. "Morning, my sweet panda."

"Awwww," said Zoey who sat opposite me and smiled at Seungri and I. "So cute. If you two were dating, you would look like two cute pandas."

"I agree," said Christine, who sat next to Zoey. She looked like she was just about to laugh.

I could imagine having panda ears at the moment and I shook the thought out of my head as I threw Zoey and Christine a look, telling them to keep quiet. They were giggling when they stopped after my warning look.

"Morning, Seungri," I said, looking up at him.

"Morning," said G-Dragon, trying to ignore Seungri and me as he sat down at the other end of the conference table.

"Aren't you excited about today?" Mike asked the BigBang members.

"I am," said Daesung as he sat next to Mike. "You?"

"Super excited. Though they had to wake us up early in the morning."

"Tell me about it," said Seungri as he sat on my other side. "I'm just happy the music video is being released today."

"And for some of us," said Daniel, "BTW is going to be announced as an official group."

I thought I saw G-Dragon through the corner of my eye, rolling his eyes. Or was I just imagining things?

"I'm happy for both," said Taeyang as he and TOP joined Christine and Zoey on the other side of the table.

"We all are," I said.

"What time is the meeting likely to start?" TOP asked as he looked at his wrist watch.

"I hear 7:30," said Zoey. "And this is 7:15, so there is still time for the others to get here."

"You guys are usually early nowadays. What's the catch?"

"We have an early bird for an assistant manager," Daniel answered.

"And you think that's a bad thing?" Seungri asked.

"No. I just love to sleep."

"Of course, you do," said Christine.

Just like before, the door flew open behind me. And this time the two other groups came in.

"Hey, guys," greeted Mino.

Those of us already settled in the conference room, greeted him and the others back. They soon settled around the table.

"You guys are pretty early," said Rosé.

"Tell that to The Toxins," said Daesung. "They were here before us."

"I guess we should get this meeting started right now," said Seungyoon.

"I agree," said Christine. "Is it possible to call the organisers and our managers here?"

"They will come here when they want to," said Zoey. "I wouldn't like to be the one calling them. It's not even time for the meeting yet."

"Why?" I asked. "Too scared?"

"No. They are really important people and I don't think they would like to be rushed by someone like me."

"Well, Ji Yeon used to rush us," said Lisa.

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me."

"Speaking of waiting," I said, "I wonder if BTS will be arriving soon."

"They will be joining us," said Mino. "They arrived almost at the same time as we did."

"But aren't they supposed to be here by now?" Taeyang asked.

Just as Taeyang had asked that question, the door flew open and seven BTS members came in with Lee.

"Guess who's finally in the building?" Lee asked with so much glee.

I turned around on my seat to look at the seven BTS members with a smile on my face. A lot of us did so too.

"You're finally here!" Zoey exclaimed as she stood up from her seat with her arms spread out wide.

"Hello, everyone," said RM as he smiled at Zoey.

"Looks like you're just as excited as we are," said Seunghoon.

"We are," said Jin. "Some of us couldn't sleep last night because of this."

"I wonder who that may be," said Mike, raising an eyebrow as though he knew who it was.

"Please, take a seat," said Seungri. "We were all eagerly waiting for you."

The seven BTS members took their seats around the table. All of us almost filled up the seats around the oval shaped conference table.

"The meeting is about to start in a few minutes," said Lee. "So, don't move."

"And where would we go?" Zoey asked.

"Let me not remind you what happened the last time you guys were supposed to have a meeting with Collins back home."

Lee didn't have to. We were supposed to have a meeting with Collins and the board of the record company, but surprisingly, they took almost half an hour to start that Zoey announced she was going to the bathroom. Instead, she went out shopping and we only realised it when the meeting was about to start and I was told to look for her. The rest of the details concerning that day, is classified.

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Yes, we know," she said.

"Well, some of us don't," said Suga with a smirk on his face. "Do you mind briefing us about it?"

"No," said Zoey.

"Ask me properly on another day, and I will," said Lee.

"Lee!" the five of us Toxins warned her.

"Eish, okay. They will be here in a minute, so, please stay put."

"No, they won't," said Zoey as she looked at the time on her phone. "We still have five minutes."

"You're so going to be surprised," said Lee as she turned around to leave the room.

"I wonder what she meant by that," said Daniel.

It wasn't long enough when the door behind me flew open and I heard footsteps coming into the room. I stood up from my seat and so did everyone else seated around the table. The managers and the organisers were here. It seems Lee wasn't joking after all.

We all bowed as the organisers and the managers found themselves at their seats. We all sat down, but the two managers remained standing.

"Hello, everyone," said Yang Hyun-suk. "I see you all have excited looks on your faces. That's good, considering that this day is important. Now, the organisers and us the managers are here for us to go through some details."

"Anything concerning the staging on set will be done by the camera crew," said Collins "Since you've all understood, let's start, shall we?"

It was then that I felt adrenaline rush through my veins and hit every part of my body. I couldn't believe we were exactly doing this. As exciting as this was, I couldn't help but fell terrified at the same time.


	28. Chapter 27: "Sweet Like Sugar."

After the meeting which took almost forty minutes, we had an hour of vocal rehearsals in one of the studio rooms in preparation for our performance. Afterwards we found ourselves in different rehearsal dressing rooms. In the girl's dressing room, we were changing into our outfits and getting our makeup and hair done by the makeup artists and hairstylists. There was so much giggling and chatting amongst us. It was like we had all gone out to a beauty parlor to make ourselves look pretty. It felt really nice and apparently, Zoey read my mind about us girls going there someday.

"You know what, girls," Zoey said, who sat opposite me. "We should all go out someday to a beauty parlor or something."

"I agree," said Lisa who was sitting next to me, facing the dressing mirror, just like each one of us. There was a hairstylist doing her hair.

"Or we can have a girl's sleep over," I suggested.

"That sounds awesome," said Christine who was seated on my other side.

"The boys had theirs last time," said Jennie. "It will be so much fun if we have ours."

"Will it be okay if we can invite another k-pop girl group in the mix?" I asked.

"Who are you suggesting?" Jisoo asked.

"RedVelvet."

"Oooh, that will be great!" Zoey said excitedly.

"The more we are, the merrier," said Rosé.

"True," said Lisa.

Seconds later, I looked up at the mirror as my hair was being done and I saw Lee and Ji Yeon come into the dressing room.

"Okay, ladies, we will be live on stage within thirty minutes."

I looked at the time on my phone which was laying on the table in front of me close to the mirror. It was only 10:50, so that meant we were supposed to be done before 11:30. We had to perform before the music video was released at 12.

"Don't worry," said Zoey. "We will be done by then and we will all be looking gorgeous."

"Hopefully, you won't be annoying on stage too," said Ji Yeon.

"You just read my mind," said Lee.

"Am I?" Zoey asked as I saw her through my mirror, face the two women.

"We all know you are," said Christine.

"Hey!" Zoey now turned to look at Christine.

Most of us in the room laughed, including those doing our makeup and hair.

"If I had come here earlier, I would have told the makeup artist to make you look like a clown, Zoey," said Ji Yeon, with a smirk on her face.

"Coming from you, I wouldn't be surprised," said Zoey.

I smiled at the two and I realised I was going to miss having Ji Yeon around. Including Ji Nun, though we, The Toxins, had Ji Yeon as our choreographer. I got used to them because they reminded me of Jimmy, our choreographer back home. Zoey might not admit it, but she was going to miss Ji Yeon too.

Just seconds later, Mike was at the door, already dressed up in white. The five of us Toxins were going to be in all white today. Lee and Ji Yeon made way for him with puzzled looks on their faces.

"Mike, what are you doing here?" Lee asked.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but did Seungri pass through here?" Mike asked.

"Why would he?" Rosé asked.

"Umm, it's nothing," he said. "You wouldn't want to know."

I raised an eyebrow at him through the mirror. Something was definitely up with these guys. Well, there always is.

"Okay, don't tell us then," said Lisa. "You guys are so secretive."

"So are you," said Mike. "If you will excuse me, I have to continue looking for Seungri."

Mike turned around to leave. When he was finally gone, Christine laughed. Lee and Ji Yeon had left after him.

"Whatever Seungri is up to, it's probably something hilarious," she said.

"Obviously," said Jisoo. "He's always up to stuff like that."

"I wish we asked Mike a little more about what Seungri's up to," said Zoey.

"Sometimes it's best you don't know," said Jennie.

"I agree," I said.

After getting ourselves ready thirty minutes later, we all walked out of the dressing room and went to the rehearsal building right next to it. Just when we went in through the back, we found the others backstage waiting for us.

"Oh, look here," said Seunghoon. "The ladies have finally arrived and they look stunning as ever."

"Thank you," said Jennie as she gave him a big smile.

"Hey, is Seungri with you guys?" I asked.

"No, beautiful," said Seunghoon with a corky smile on his face as he looked at me.

"Weird," said Zoey. "Mike came looking for him in our dressing room."

"Ya, he left way before we did," said Jinwoo. "Who knows what's he's up to."

"We also can't help but wonder," said Rosé.

"Ah, you girls are finally here," said Lee as she appeared. "We will go through some last minute details before time. But we have a problem."

"We can't start without Seungri," said Christine.

"Sadly, yes. BigBang goes up first and we have a few minutes till we actually get the show on air and we still don't know where he is."

"Do the managers know?" I asked.

"Luckily, no," said Mino. "But they will, obviously."

"Where are BTS and the others?"

"They are on the other side. A few went out looking for Seungri," said Lee. "I really hope he gets here soon. My neck is on the line."

Lee went back to where she came from while we continued to stand where we were.

"Are any of you ladies going to look for him?" Seungyoon asked.

"Nah," said Zoey as she flipped her hair to the side. "I have to look fresh for when we appear on stage. I don't want to mess myself up, you know. So, I'm better off here."

"I'll go check up on the others," I said.

"I'll come with you," said Christine.

Christine came along with me while the other BlackPink members and Zoey stayed behind with WINNER.

"Hey, guys," I said to the seven BTS members, Daniel and TOP whom Christine and I found chatting.

"Well, you two look gorgeous," said TOP.

"Thanks," Christine and I said at the same time.

"You should see BlackPink, though," I said. "They also look just as gorgeous in black and pink."

"But not as beautiful as you are," said J-Hope.

"Ohh," I couldn't help but blush. "Thank you."

"I see the others aren't here," said Christine.

"Seungri is still M.I.A," said Daniel. "I feel bad that Mike had to go out and look for him."

"But aren't G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung helping him out?" I asked.

"They are," he said. "But I should have gone with him."

"Why did Seungri leave anyway?" I asked as I looked at each and every one in front of me.

TOP and Daniel gave each a nervous look. Jimin scratched the back of his head while Jungkook went on to stare at the ceiling. J-Hope and RM both gave out a cough. Suga and Jin also gave each other a look. V just smiled at me.

I folded my arms. "You guys are unbelievable," I said. "What's the harm in letting me and Christine know what's going on?"

"Nothing," said Jungkook, quickly. I noticed him blush, but I couldn't really tell if he was lying.

"Ya, Sam," said Daniel. "It's nothing, believe me."

"I have to admit, you're being a pretty good liar like your sister here," said Christine. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, it's the truth," said Suga. "Look, here come the others with Seungri now."

Christine and I turned to look in the direction in which the other four BigBang members and Mike came from. They paused upon seeing us.

"Hi Sam, hi Christine," said Daesung with a smile on his face. "You girls look stunning."

"Yes," said G-Dragon as he quickly nodded his head. "Very stunning."

I still had my arms folded as I stared at them. My gaze was fixed upon Seungri the most. I guess he noticed because he went on to look at his feet.

"Thank you," Christine replied instead. "Where were you, Seungri?"

"Me?" Seungri looked up, completely caught off guard. "No where. I was just playing around with the guys. You know, like hide and seek. No big deal."

I raised an eyebrow when Daniel said, "you see. I told you it was nothing."

"Okay," I said as I put up a smile on my face, which I didn't mean wholeheartedly. "Christine and I better get back."

"Ok," said Taeyang. "Are you ready for the speech coming up first?"

Before we had to perform, G-Dragon and I were to appear on stage first to present to the audience what was to take place today. There was going to be a small audience of fans watching us live on stage. We were also going to air live on national television and YouTube. Afterwards came the performances, then a live stream of the music video on YouTube on the big screen.

"Ya, I'm ready," I said.

Soon enough, two of the crew members working backstage came up to us with earpiece microphones and helped most of us put them on.

"We will be on in a few minutes and Lee wants to see you all before we start," one of the crew man said.

"Okay, then," I said and I turned to look at the others, "shall we go?"

"Yes, we shall," said Seungri with a smile.

While the others started to leave, I held Seungri back for a while by putting my hand on his shoulder.

"I really hope you're not up to something, Seungri," I said.

Seungri gave me a corky smile. "What makes you think that, my dear panda?" he asked.

"When it comes to you, you're pretty unpredictable."

Seungri raised an eyebrow. "I thought Jiyong was the unpredictable one."

I leaned in towards him and whispered in his ear, "and so are you."

"I like that you think so mysteriously of me, my panda," he said as I leaned further back. "Makes you more attractive, if you ask me."

I could feel my cheeks heating up, but I was careful enough not to show that I was blushing.

"Let's go," I said as I started to go ahead of him and he followed behind.

"Thank goodness," said Lee as we joined the others and Lee looked towards Seungri. "I would have called security on you."

"Not to worry, Lee," Seungri said with a smile. "I'm fine."

"Well, I wasn't. Okay, back to why we're all here," Lee turned to look at each one of us. I noticed she also had a earpiece microphone and a clipboard with her. "We'll be on in a minute and we all know what comes next after the other. So, we all have to shine out there, okay? For the fans watching here and also those watching online and on TV. Sam, GD, are you two ready for the big introduction?"

"Ready," G-Dragon and I answered at the same time.

Lee gave us a thumbs up. One of the backstage crew members came to inform us that we had forty seconds to get to our positions.

"You heard the man, let's go," said Lee.

Everyone else scrammed to their positions except G-Dragon and I who were entering the stage through the middle through the red curtain. We took a few steps towards it. Lee also left with the backstage crew members obviously checking for any last minute details.

"Are you ready for this?" G-Dragon asked as he looked at me with a cool smile on his face.

"Kind of," I said as I shrugged my shoulders when I was actually trying to relax myself. "I've realised that you can't really be ready for big events."

G-Dragon chuckled. I heard the person on the other end through my ear earpiece say that we had twenty seconds till the show began.

"I can hold your hand if you want," he said as he looked down at his feet.

I ended up looking at him with an eyebrow raised. Fifteen seconds remained. "No thanks," I said. "I'm kind of used to this already. I'm not a rookie, you know."

G-Dragon looked back at me. "I know."

Ten seconds remained. This was it. The person on the other started the countdown. I took a deep breath and everything around slowly started to go quiet, except from the voice I was hearing in my ear. Five seconds remained and G-Dragon gave me a wink before turning to look straight at the curtain in front of him. I also did the same and immediately the person in my ear said "one" we heard a loud voice on stage.

"Introducing your hosts for this special event, please welcome, G-Dragon and Samantha Glasson!"

I took a step forward alongside G-Dragon as the red curtains gave way. A huge spotlight shone on us as we walked up on stage. There was a huge round of applause from the small group of fans that had been invited to witness the event. The sound of their clapping felt like there were more people in the hall than usual. I noticed that they all had random flashlights with them. For BigBang, BTS, BlackPink and WINNER. I couldn't help but smile at their amazing support. I waved at them as they called out my name.

G-Dragon and I stopped at the centre of the stage taking in the love we were receiving from the fans.

"안녕하세요 여러분, (Hello everyone)," said G-Dragon as he gave them a dashing smile and the fans responded loudly.

"We are so happy to have you here today, on a very special occasion," I said. G-Dragon later translated what I said in Korean. "As you all know, today is the release of BigBang and The Toxins' single." G-Dragon translated that too. There was a loud cheer from the fans. "I know you've all been excited and so are we. But this isn't why we are celebrating. So stick around and see what surprise we have in store for you."

There was loud clapping and cheering from the fans as I started to leave the stage, leaving G-Dragon where he stood. The stage lights started to dim out and the red curtain behind was raised up revealing an LED backdrop behind it. I could hear the fans scream as blue laser lights showed on the partially dark stage around G-Dragon and music started to play in the background. Through the corner of my eye, I saw the other BigBang members join G-Dragon on stage. The fans went all hysterical.

As I joined the others backstage, Zoey put her arm around me and mouthed out "nice work." Christine, Daniel and Jisoo gave me a thumbs up. I smiled back at them as we all got hurdled up backstage to watch BigBang's performance.

BigBang looked like rockstars on stage with their black and white bad boy outfits as they performed one of their hit songs, "Sober" which I had to admit, was one of their crazy songs that I loved the most. The fans were also singing along and I couldn't help but also quietly sing along with them.

Just when their performance was done, it was now WINNER's turn. As BigBang left the stage, WINNER came on stage, the tune "REALLY REALLY" playing. The fans couldn't help themselves as they let out an enormous uproar. Just like me, they also loved the song. It was one of my favourites too. I could see the others around move to the rhythm of the beat.

Just as WINNER were concluding on their performing, BTS were ready to come up next. I simply couldn't wait for their performance. It sucked watching their performance backstage. You really couldn't see everything and I really envied being where the fans were right now.

Just when WINNER were done on stage, the stage lights went dark and that was their cue to quickly leave the stage. The song of "Blood, Sweat and Tears" started to play on stage, and there was a loud uproar coming from the fans. I could feel their excitement.

A few lights went on on stage and BTS were there singing and dancing to their song. I could see Zoey and Christine who were beside me look excited.

Just as BTS were done, BlackPink were next and we, The Toxins wished them luck when they got ready to perform on stage. Unlike the rest of us, BlackPink were going to start their performance by marching up on stage. They were performing to their song "As If It's Your Last." The five of us Toxins were enjoying the song backstage so we couldn't help but move along to the beat.

I soon heard the person on the other end in my ear tell us to get ready since we were next. The other four beside me soon composed themselves.

Just as BlackPink's performance came to an end, the stage lights blacked out and that was our cue to get on stage. As soon as BlackPink had headed out for the backstage through the other side, we went on stage and positioned ourselves in the middle of the stage. The big stage light above us went on and the fans went wild as they saw us on stage and the music started to play. The five of us started to sing and perform to one of our hit songs and it was surprising that the fans knew the song as they were singing along on the chorus part. It felt good to have the fans singing along. The feeling was amazing.

Just when we were ending our performance, the five of us walked towards the front of the stage. I could tell the stage lights behind us on stage black out leaving the front lights on stage on. This was it. The final part of the show.

Immediately we were done, the fans gave out a thunderous round of applause. The five of us on stage took our little moment to pause on stage and take a breath but at the same time, we continued to smile at the fans who couldn't stop cheering.

Afterwards the five of us started to clap and cheer with them and we gathered together with our arms on each others' shoulders as we hugged. The fans continued to cheer even more.

After we broke up, we were told through our earpieces that it was time for the final performance. This was it. Zoey went on to address the fans:

"Are you ready for more!"

The fans shouted in response. I had to admit, it was almost deafening.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

The fans continued to cheer a bit louder this time. Zoey was the kind of person who knew how to keep a crowd going.

The five of us on stage turned around as though we were heading backstage, but we weren't. The stage lights that had blacked out at first slowly began to light up as we approached what happened to be the stage construction set that was had been worked on and completed before this day. The fans were excited to see it. We settled around the construction set in our positions.

The construction set on stage looked like a space full of candy. The LED backdrop behind us shown clouds of fluffy pink clouds which if I wasn't mistaken, was cotton candy and a town made of ginger bread buildings with lovely different sorts of candies every where. The stage was filled with large lollipops full of amazing bright colours, medium sized gummy bears of different colours, some of them holding the lollipops in their paws. There were green bushes that had candy instead of just green leaves. There were also pink and white fluffy cotton that surrounded the stage too. It really looked like we were in candy heaven.

The fans continued to cheer on as they also realised that the two groups, BlackPink and WINNER were also with us on stage.

At the centre of the stage, was a round pink and white platform. It looked like the hard candy of a lollipop with white and pink swirling colours all around it. Those of us on stage were seated around on the platform. I happened to be facing the fans. I couldn't help but smile at them.

The music started to play and the fans screamed in excitement. For those who were lucky enough to know what had happened some time ago, WINNER, BlackPink and The Toxins had danced to this song at the Times Square which had attracted huge attention and speculation about there being a group collaboration among the three groups. We were performing a cover to the same song like we did last time, "Sweet Like Sugar" by Flo Rida featuring Wynter Gordon.

As soon as the music started and we started to sing our parts in the song, we stood up from the platform, walked around the circle in one direction. Some of us got on the platform while the others stayed where they were. We paired up like we had before at Times Square, except for TOP who had been dancing with Rosé. Rosé stood in the middle of the circle platform alone. She had a dance number of her own while we continued to dance and twirl around on the platform like we had before. But this time, our dance choreo was more refined.

As we sang the last chorus of the song, we changed our positions quickly as those of us on the platform got down from it, except Rosé. We ran round the platform in one direction, then we all got on the platform and paused upon the ending of the song. We ended our performance in an extraordinary fashion as the girls sat round the platform in a classy style pause with our leg crossing the other except for Rosé who was still standing on the platform with the guys standing along each side of her.

Confetti of all colours filled the air and landed on stage. The fans continued to cheer on as those of us on stage continued to smile. G-Dragon soon came up on stage and came to stand within a few feet from the platform and with his arm outstretched presented us to the fans as "BTW."

The fans went wild with their cheers. I could see some of them were very surprised about the whole thing but they went on to cheer anyway. It was a huge surprise for them. I wondered how those watching this live else where were taking in the news.

Soon, those of us on stage started to clap with the fans as we started to give each other hugs. BTW was now official. It wasn't going to be for a long time, but it was going to be a fun experience for the three groups to work together. The other BigBang members and BTS came up on stage to congratulate us and give us hugs.

Afterwards, we all stared to wave to the fans, saying bye. The others started to walk out and head backstage leaving G-Dragon and I behind on stage. We walked to the front centre of the stage as we waved on at the fans.

"So that was our special surprise from us to you," I said as G-Dragon translated that later onwards. "Now, the moment everyone has been waiting for. The release of BigBang and The Toxins' new single!"

The fans cheered as the lights blacked out on stage and the LED screen was all that was on. A countdown had started on the screen and the fans couldn't help but say the countdown out loud themselves.

G-Dragon and I had already gone backstage and we soon joined the others in one of the dressing rooms. There was a large flat screen TV placed on the wall high above the floor for everyone to see. G-Dragon and I had come in just in time for the music video.

All of us were all quiet as we watched. So far, I was enjoying it and I couldn't help but smile. The video was all about fun and it was great that we filmed it at the water park.

After the music video was done, we could hear the echoing sound of the fans cheering back out there. That was what I wanted to hear. I was glad they liked it. Though I knew not everyone would.

All of us in the dressing room started to comment after seeing the music video.

"Wow, guys," said Seunghoon. "Your music video is awesome."

"Totally, I really love it," said Jisoo. "I think I'm going to my phone on YouTube to like it and put a comment."

"And don't forget to get the track on iTunes," said Mike.

"Amazing," said Suga. "I really liked the lyrics."

"You should be thanking my little panda, here," said Seungri as he came towards me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "She's the one who wrote them."

"But I had a little help, don't forget," I said with a smile.

"I absolutely loved myself in that video," said Zoey.

"We know," said Daniel and Christine at the same time.

"And all the choreography credits go to Taeyang and Mike," said TOP.

"Let's not forget our choreographer too," said Taeyang. "We just played a little part in it."

"But still, it's awesome," said Jimin. "It didn't look too complicated and it suited with the music really well."

"True," said Mino. "I can't wait to learn it."

"Well, I'm up for the complicated ones at the moment," said Mike. "BTS, we still have to go through with Blood, Sweat and Tears."

"Sure, no problem," said RM. "Just make sure you come around and we will gladly show you."

Lee soon came in the dressing room. "I didn't get to say this when you guys left the stage," she begun to say, turning all our attention on her, "but you were all awesome. And the music video is already trending on YouTube and so is the performance you all did. Great job today everyone."

We all muttered out our thanks to Lee. She had an amazing smile on her face.

"Listen," she said. Surprisingly, we all kept quiet. "The managers are also happy about the performance, so I want you all to go to the YG main building."

"Is there a surprise?" Daniel asked.

"Just following orders. I don't know what's up since I've been here with you guys the whole time."

Lee stepped out of the dressing room and we made sure that we left the earpiece microphone equipment in the room before following her out of the dressing room and using the shortcut back to the main building.

We had used the backdoor of the building and we were heading to the lobby, all of us wondering what was going on.

As soon as we got to the lobby, we were greeted by the sight of our managers and our two choreographers, Ji Yeon and Ji Nun. That wasn't the only part. There was a sweet buffet of lovely coloured cupcakes, cookies, brownies, a chocolate fountain, marshmallows on sticks and a huge vanilla and chocolate cake all set up in the lobby.

"Wow!" Daniel exclaimed. "Am I really in candy heaven?"

"Candy heaven would have a lot more sweets than this, Daniel," said Collins.

"You were all outstanding today," said Yang Hyung-suk. "And congrats to BTW and the single is becoming a hit each second."

"Wow, thank you very much," I said. "You shouldn't have done this for us, really."

"Well, we weren't the ones who had this idea in the first place," said Collins as he went on to look at Seungri.

The rest of us all turned to look at him. He was smiling like he had just achieved a gold medal.

"So, that's why you disappeared," said Lee as she rolled her eyes. "I should have known better."

"Just wanted to give you all a sweet surprise after working so hard," said Seungri. "I also happened to leave a similiar treat for the fans back there after the show."

The four BlackPink members, Christine and Zoey all gave an "Awww!" and they all surrounded him to give him a hug, thanking him in the process. I smiled at him. He noticed and smiled back. It was so sweet of him.

"It's nothing," said Seungri still held in the ladies' embrace.

"Sweet, sweet, Seungri," said G-Dragon. "I would give you a lovely kiss right now. But I'll save it for later."

Most of us in the room gave G-Dragon a weird look.

"I'm so up for cake right now," said Jungkook.

"You and me, both," said Daniel.

"Please, dig in," said Ji Yeon.

It didn't take us long to do so and we were having so much fun chatting amongst ourselves, even with our managers. I had to be a little cautious with Daniel though. He was one who liked sugar and mum would kill me if she found out that we were having a sweet course buffet.

But all in all, we had a wonderful day. And what more to end it with a lovely sweet treat. I don't mean the cake and all, but each other's company.


	29. Chapter 28: We Are Making An Album

After I yawned and stretched on my comfortble bed, I turned around to the side where I could see the window. It was morning alright and a Saturday too. That meant I could sleep till whenever, but at the moment, I didn't feel like sleeping in late since I was already awake. I sat up on my bed and checked the time on my phone that had laid next to my bed lamp all night as usual. It was only 6:55.

I kicked away the bed covers and stood up from my bed. I continued to stretch some more before making my way to the bathroom. Zoey was still fast asleep. I really admired people like her who knew they had to sleep in on a weekend.

After brushing my teeth and washing my face a little to help me be wide awake, I went back in the bedroom, wore my sleeping gown and bed slippers, then made my way out of the room into the hall. It was quiet. So quiet that I could hear the noise of the traffic outside as I made my way into the lounge. There were cars honking, cars accelerating unto the road and some people calling out to each other as they went about their daily business.

I made my way to the balcony, opened the door and stepped out. The air outside was nice and refreshing. I looked down the balcony where I could see the main road outside the hotel premises. Even on a weekend, people still seemed to be busy, most of them, I bet, were going to work. Others were probably going somewhere spending the weekend with their friends and families.

As I continued to look around the town, I heard someone coming closer behind me. I didn't turn around immediately as I said:

"Morning, Daniel."

"Dang it!" Daniel muttered as he came to stand by my side. He was also in his sleeping robe. "How did you know it was me?"

"I don't know," I said as I smiled at him. "Maybe it's because you're always trying to get back at me for creeping up on you sometimes."

"That's because I never hear your footsteps. You're a cat, remember?"

I laughed. "I know. Why are you up so early?"

"I just woke up. I thought you would be sleeping in too."

"Just like you, I also woke up."

"Yesterday was fun, wasn't it?"

"Ya, it was great."

The two of us continued to look out around the city of Seoul from the balcony. We didn't say a word as we just stood there and watched for a while.

"I'm hungry," said Daniel as he broke the silence.

"We can order breakfast right now while the others are asleep. But no sweet stuff for you," I warned. "You had too much yesterday."

"I know, I know."

The both of us went back inside the lounge and we found Collins by the hotel landline. Hopefully, I thought, he was ordering our breakfast.

As soon as he put the phone down, he turned to look at us.

"I was wondering who was out at the balcony," said Collins. "I was expecting Sam or Lee to be up, not you, Daniel."

"I know, it's an improvement," said Daniel with a smile.

"Did you order our breakfast?" I asked.

"Ummm, no, actually, someone called," said Collins.

"How come we didn't hear the phone ring?"

"As soon as I came in, the phone started to ring and I picked it up immediately."

"Oh, who was it from?" Daniel asked.

"Some reporters want an interview with you guys over your new single with BigBang. And also on BTW."

I rolled my eyes as I scoffed. "Mmm, same old, same old," I said.

"Ya, so the phone will be pretty busy at some point during the day, so, you shouldn't mind at all. I should let Lee take care of it."

"That's if she gets out of bed early," said Daniel. "Everyone's really bummed out after yesterday's event."

"Which still proves to be a success. Have you checked the number of views on your video?"

"I don't want to know right now. I would check on that later. I like to be surprised by the number when I least expect it."

"I agree with my brother," I said. "Besides, I don't think I'm in the mood to look at my phone early in the morning."

"You kids are really something else," said Collins. "Okay, let me call room service so that they can bring up our breakfast."

"Thank you," said Daniel as he sighed in relief. "You just read my mind. I'm hungry. Oh, and no sugary stuff for me, please. Sam warned me that I shouldn't have anymore."

Collins raised an eyebrow at Daniel. "I know," he said. "Your mum would kill me if she ever finds out. She's as tough as nails."

"Well, I'm glad that you agree there is someone out there who is way tougher than you."

Collins just shook his head at Daniel while I placed my hand on his head and ruffled his short black hair. Collins soon picked up the hotel landline and called for room service to bring up our breakfast.

It was still just the three of us now settled at the dining table after our breakfast arrived. Collins made sure to order toast, eggs and bacon for all of us so that Daniel could have a non-sweet healthy breakfast. There was coffee and juice for any of us who preferred either.

"So, what are you all planning to do today?" Collins asked as we ate.

"Come to think about it, we didn't really think about it," I said as I looked at Collins.

"Or talked about it," said Daniel.

"Maybe you guys could do an interview today?" Collins suggested. "But again, it seems too soon and the reporters would really like BTW and BigBang to be there."

"Won't that be too crowded?" I asked. "We're way to many."

"Please, Sam," said Daniel. "There are K-Pop groups whose numbers are more than the four groups combined and they carry out interviews just fine."

"Daniel's right. But then again, we wouldn't want to make it too complicated," said Collins. "So, I think it would be okay if each leader in each group attend the interview. But I have to run it through Yang Hyun-Suk first. I bet he has also been receiving calls like I have."

"Yes, but let's not do it on a weekend," I said. "We've had such a busy week and I bet what everyone wants to do is just stay in and get enough rest as possible."

"I agree," said Daniel raising his fork in the air.

"Yes, you guys can rest for the entire weekend," said Collins. "But let's not forget that on Monday we are on a tight schedule from then onwards. BTW has to be right on track with creating new songs."

Daniel dropped his fork after he had just picked up the bacon he had cut out and wanted to put in his mouth. I for one, almost choked on my orange juice as I gently placed the glass down on the table. 

"Did you just say songs, songs? Not 'a' song?" Daniel asked.

"Ya," Collins answered. "You guys will have a little album. Won't be more than five songs."

"Five songs in two weeks?" I asked also shocked. "That's too much pressure, don't you think?"

"I know. But you guys wanted BTW so badly. So, we thought it will be fun if you made an album."

"An album in two weeks. We have to come up with songs and produce them. It's going to take a lot of time."

"We know. That's why the three combined groups have excellent song writers, producers and choreographers. So whatever happens, you will all be fine. Remember, this isn't the first time you have worked under pressure."

Daniel and I looked at each other and we knew he was right. Going through this obstacle wasn't going to be the first time for us, Toxins. We had gone through hard times after our debut turned out to be a disaster and the five of us at that time, had to make it work the second chance we got. And it really did count. Some would have called it luck. Others would have called it hard work. But the five of us called it putting our life on the line.

"So," continued Collins as we went back to looking at him. "I hope you will be able to break this news to the group. We wanted to tell you all this yesterday but everyone was in a good mood."

"And you think telling them now will be great?" Daniel asked.

"Not really, no. But it's best you know this today rather than on a Monday when you've had a good weekend of rest."

"I can get started on some lyrics," I said. "But it isn't going to be easy. I need some inspiration to write."

"I hope the inspiration comes soon. You should prepare and tell the others as well. Right now, you're in charge."

"Wait, I'm in charge of BTW?"

"Yes, you're the leader."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" I said waving my index finger. "I can't be leader."

"Why?" Daniel asked.

"Because it's BTW and it's a huge group. I already have the four of you Toxins to deal with."

"Ya, but what does it got to do with the others? The rest are more mature than we are, so, handling them will be fine."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Easy for you to say because you're not the one who has been given the responsibility."

Daniel smiled at me. "Good point."

"Sam," said Collins. "I know you don't want this, but Yang Hyun-suk thinks the same too. There is no better person to take up this role."

"But why can't it be someone like Mino or Seungyoon? Jisoo or Jennie? Zoey or Mike?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow at me and so did Collins. Then they both started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"I can't believe you thought of Zoey, but, let's face it, Sam," said Collins."You have been chosen by Yang Hyun-suk and I to lead BTW."

"Well, Zoey's the one who came up the group name. Don't you think she deserves to be leader?"

Collins and Daniel looked at each other and then back at me. They knew I had a point somehow.

"We know," said Collins. "But unfortunately, we need someone to push everyone to their best these next two weeks. And that person is you."

If I was a kid, I would thrown my arms and legs in the air and wailed to make a point, but I wasn't. I should have seen this coming. We never thought of who should be the leader. We should have chosen amongst ourselves instead of the managers doing it for us.

"Fine," I said as I folded my arms. "I'll make a call or send a message to the others and see where we can start."

"And that's why we chose you," said Collins as he smiled at me. "Now, I have to go about my business. When Lee wakes up, tell her to call me."

"Sure," Daniel and I said at the same time.

Collins soon stood up from the table and left for his room. He must have gone to pick up a few things before leaving. It was just Daniel and I at the table now.

"So, how are you going to break it out to all of BTW that we are making an album?" Daniel asked as he continued to eat his breakfast.

"The usual," I said as I lifted the glass of orange juice to my lips. "Straight and simple."

"Mmm, we're really in for it, aren't we?"

"Totally. We wanted BTW and we got it without thinking of the consequences."

"Yikes. I know of one person who might laugh at us right now."

I drank my juice as I knew who Daniel was talking about.

"G-Dragon," we both said at the same time.

After we finished our breakfast, Collins finally left. Then, Daniel and I both went to our rooms to take a shower. Just as I was done, I walked back into the bedroom and Zoey was wide awake and seated on her bed.

"Morning," I greeted her as I was drying my wet hair.

She yawned before she answered, "morning. Did you just get up a few minutes ago?"

"No. I actually woke up like an hour ago. You better take a shower and eat your breakfast."

"Why? Are we going somewhere today?" she asked as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe." I shrugged my shoulders. "Just go take a shower."

"Okay, I'm going." Zoey pushed aside her bed covers and got out of bed. In her sleepy state, she walked all the way to the bathroom.

As soon as she had locked the door behind her, I took my phone that was on my bedside and went online. I had messages coming in from all over. From the fans, famous artists and celebrities who were commenting about the video and all. I had a bunch of email too and two of them came from both my mum and dad. I made sure to reply to them first. I'll get to replying to the other messages later.

I soon went on my WhatsApp app and ignoring all the messages that were coming in, I went on to make a group consisting of BlackPink, The Toxins and WINNER, a.k.a, BTW. Luckily, apart from the four Toxins, I had the others' phone numbers and I immediately added them all in the group.

After that was done, I went on to post something:

"Morning everyone. Some of you are asleep right now and would see this message earlier on, but I have something to tell you and I don't know if you're going to like it. We, as in BTW, are going to make an album and I was told this morning by Collins. So, we have to gather together....."

I thought about the message and erased it. I heard Zoey turn on the shower. I didn't know how I was going to write this. I did tell Daniel that I was going to keep it straight and simple. I started to type and this time I wrote:

"Morning everyone, Sam here. Big announcement: We're going to make an album and we have to start working on it fast. We only have two weeks, so let's make it count."

I looked at the message again and I realized I sounded like some of my high school teachers whenever they were announcing about a test or a quiz. They were simple and straightforward and I hoped my message portrayed the same even when I knew others might not like it. Besides, most of us never liked it when our teachers announced about having tests like that either. I guess we just had to deal with it.

I quickly dressed up and since I had a feeling that I wouldn't be going out today, I wore comfy clothes. A cotton white t-shirt and a blue cotton trousers that wasn't so tight. After drying my hair, I tied it up into a rough bun and I got my notebook and pen in the drawer then went out to the lounge and sat on the couch.

A good ten minutes had passed and as I sat there with the top of my pen tapping against my forehead and my notebook on my lap, I couldn't come up with an idea for a song or any random lyrics. This wasn't pretty. We only had two weeks. I really needed people here so that we can work all this out.

"Morning," came Lee whom I hadn't heard come into the lounge. She was still in her white night dress with her white night gown.

"Morning," I said. "Oh, Collins said you should call him when you get up."

Lee yawned. "Okay. I really needed the extra sleep and I have never felt so good. I'll just go freshen up and call him."

Just as she turned around to leave, she stopped. She turned around again and looked at me.

"Wait," she said. "You're here alone with your notebook and pen." I looked at her as she paused for a bit. It looked like she was trying to put something together.

"Oh, my. Collins told you the plan, didn't he?" Lee asked, her eyes now wide awake.

"Ya," I answered as I shrugged my shoulders. "Daniel and I were the unfortunate ones to hear it straight from his mouth."

"I thought he was going to tell you guys, like, tomorrow. But I think it's good you know about it now. We only have two weeks."

"That's why I'm here. But so far, I can't seem to come up with a single idea for one song."

"It will come around. It always does."

"I need inspiration," I said as I threw my head back against the couch. "That's what I need. And a lot of my team's help."

"Did someone say help?" Daniel asked as he came into the lounge. "Morning Lee."

"Morning," Lee greeted him. "Have you told these guys they are making an album?" she asked as she looked at me.

"I've gone as far as creating a WhatsApp group to inform the others," I answered. "They will get the message and contact me immediately."

"You made a group chat?" Daniel asked looked at his phone that he carried in his hand and checked. "Oh, I see it."

"Has anyone responded yet?"

"No, it's like everyone is still asleep. Or probably just ignoring their phones."

"They are asleep for sure," said Lee. "Christine's still in bed."

"Mike just got into the shower," said Daniel.

"And so did Zoey," I said. "I won't tell them there and then in case the news would make them lose their appetite."

"Good call," said Lee. "I'll catch you guys later." And she soon left the lounge.

"Any ideas, yet?" Daniel asked as he came to sit next to me on the couch.

"Does this answer your question?" I asked as I showed him my blank notepad.

"Well, there are also no crumpled papers on the floor, so, this is a bad sign."

"A bad one indeed. Do you have any ideas?"

"To be honest, no."

The two of us sat there in silence, then just when I thought an idea was emerging, it quickly sank deep within the depths of my mind.

"I thought I had it," I said as I later on sighed. "I think this weekend was really meant for resting. Right now, I can't think straight."

"Maybe all you need is inspiration like you suggested earlier."

"I wonder where I'm going to get it from. Can you check if anyone else in the group has responded to the message?"

Daniel did just that and still there was nothing.

"Okay, this isn't working," I said as I stood up from the couch, leaving the notebook and the pen behind on the seat. I started to pace up and down. "Our first song what should it be about?" I pointed my finger at Daniel as he was the only one there.

"Heartbreak," he answered. "We haven't done a heartbreak song in a while."

I took my pen and notebook and wrote. "Okay, heartbreak. But you know heartbreak songs are easily written when you've really gone through one. Has anyone been in one lately?"

"I guess not." Daniel stared up at the ceiling and I could tell that his mind wheels were turning. "You and Zoey had gotten into a fight some time ago over G-Dragon, didn't you?"

"Ya, some of us wouldn't want to talk about it. Besides, it wasn't much of a big deal. Zoey didn't go much into a heartbreak because she believed that I had betrayed her."

"You know, it's not always about the girl losing the guy she likes that hurts. Even friendship with her best friend goes into jeopardy."

I paused for a minute as I thought over Daniel's statement. An idea sparked in my head.

I quickly wrote it down. Daniel looked at me and he stood up from his seat so as to see what I had written.

"Your idea might have given me a better one," I said as I looked at him.

"Okay, what have you come up with?"

"As I suggested earlier, heartbreak songs are better when you've been through it yourself. So, instead of writing the song in Zoey's point of view, I thought of writing it on mine."

"I just heard my name," said Zoey as she came into the room. She saw Daniel and I standing alongside each other.

"Morning, Zoey," said Daniel.

"Morning," Zoey replied with a smile. That assured me that she hadn't seen the message yet. "Oh, breakfast. I'm starving."

She settled herself at the dining table. Daniel and I went back to the song.

"Okay, so you want to write on your point of view. How?" he asked.

"You know how G-Dragon and I are always having a go at each other and that at some point in time it became totally serious?"

"Ya," he nodded his head.

"Are you guys writing a song?" Zoey asked as she ate her breakfast.

"Kind of," I answered. I went back to Daniel. "So, as much as it was heart breaking, I think I can come with an idea from it."

Daniel looked at what I wrote on the notebook. "A Sad Song," was what I wrote.

"A sad song? So, it will be a sad heartbreak song or what?"

"Not really. I want to turn it around a bit. As sad as the song can be, I want to make it a little fun."

"Make a sad song sound fun? How?"

Mike soon came into the lounge and he greeted all over us as he went to join Zoey for breakfast. We all greeted him back.

"You know when there are those times you just want to sit down and listen to a sad song to cure your broken heart?"

"Ya, except that sad songs kind of make it worse."

"Exactly. Now what if you want so badly to sing a sad song but instead, you sing a song that will make you happy despite you being broken?"

"Wait, so you never used to feel bad after your fights with GD?"

"I would. But sometimes you just try to find a sad song to comfort you but it doesn't really come to mind."

I soon scribbled on my notebook and Daniel was right there, waiting to see what I had written. Before I was done, Christine came rushing into the lounge still in her pyjamas.

"We are making an album!?" she exclaimed.

Time seemed to have stopped when she said those words. I looked up at her and she was looking back at me with her eyes wide open and her phone in her hand.

"Wait, what?" Mike asked. "Did you just say we are making an album?"

"Sam sent a message on WhatsApp saying that BTW is making an album," said Christine, her eyes still on me. "Is this some kind of prank?"

Daniel and I didn't say a word as Zoey and Mike also took their phones and checked it for themselves. Both of their faces turned as white as snow upon seeing the message. They stood up from their seats and their eyes fell on me.

"Tell me this is one of your brilliant lies, Sam," said Mike. "You're pretty good at them and you know it."

"Umm, as much as I want it to be a lie, I'm afraid it's true," I said as I lowered my pen and notebook and looked at the other three Toxins. "We had a talk with Collins this morning."

"By 'we' you mean-?" Zoey asked.

"Daniel and I," I answered. "We talked about it over breakfast and trust me, we didn't think that it would come to this. But the managers had agreed that we make an album of not more than five songs."

"Five songs!" Mike couldn't believe it. "We have two weeks and we have five songs to write and produce."

"Ya, trust us, we told him the same thing and we weren't happy either," said Daniel. "We still aren't, but there is simply nothing we can do. We wanted BTW, so, this is what we get in return."

"Dang it," said Zoey. "And here I thought we might just have a blast with one more song till we leave but instead, we get to do five."

"Has anyone in the group responded yet?" I asked. 

"I saw a few messages just now," said Mike. "Looks like the others aren't happy about this either."

"Well, Daniel and I were planning on the first song and we really need everyone on this. I have to respond in the group and see where we can meet up. That's if anyone wants to."

"Great," said Christine, rolling her eyes. "There will be one person who would be laughing at us because of this."

"G-Dragon," the five of us responded at the same time with annoyance.

"Okay, turn those frowns around, everyone," said Daniel. "We have a busy day ahead."

"Ya, for sure," said Christine as she made her way out of the lounge.

"Don't worry," I encouraged her. "We have been put under pressure before. And as unexpected as this is, I know we can do it."

"Tell me you're the leader, Sam," said Christine as she looked at me, standing at the doorway of the lounge.

"I am." Christine smiled and I saw Zoey and Mike throw each other happy looks through the corner of my eye. At least that gave them some comfort.

"Now, go get ready," I said as Christine rushed into the hall. "We have an album to make."


	30. Chapter 29: Distractions

So, as it turns out, the rest of the BTW members did want to meet up and talk about the album. It was obvious. They were upset and wanted answers. Sadly, I couldn't really give them what they were looking for.

While I waited for the other members to arrive, Daniel, Christine and I were seated on the floor while Zoey was pacing up and down with Mike seated on the couch. We were working on the song. So far, we had an idea of what the song would be about. We started working on the chorus first.

"Okay, so the first part of the chorus," I said as I looked at my notebook, "'I want to sing a sad song tonight, but there's nothing in my head.' What do you think?"

"Why would a sad song be in your head?" Zoey asked as she continued to pace up and down.

"Don't you always think about what you want to sing?" Mike asked. "And when you're heartbroken, you definitely want to sing a sad song. Although, we do things without thinking sometimes."

"Oh, okay."

"I think it's good, so far," said Daniel who sat next to me. "What will come next?"

I scribbled something down. It didn't seem right so I cancelled it out with my pen. "Nah, that didn't seem right," I said.

"Come on, Sam, you have to think," said Zoey as she looked at me.

"What if you mention about being heartbroken in the next line?" Mike asked.

I thought of what Mike said and I started to write while I sang the lyrics, "'I've been heartbroken many times and these are one of those days.' How does that sound?"

Christine blew a kiss in the air, "love it. Let's continue."

Some lyrics sprang in my mind and I quickly wrote them down while singing, keeping the tune I had in my head. "'I try to find a song to ease the pain, I try to find a song that suits my mood.'"

"Alright, we will inform you if there will be any changes," said Lee as she was on the landline. "Thank you, have a good day."

After the call, Lee came over to us with her hands on her waist.

"It's nice to see all of you like this when you've a song to write," said Lee with a smile on her face.

"If it wasn't for us making an album, I wouldn't be here," said Zoey as she continued to pace up and down.

"We all know that. But you don't have much time and it's good Sam is pushing you all."

"Ya, but it's going to be tough," I said as I looked up at Lee.

"It's nothing we can't handle," said Christine. "When the others are here, I bet we will work much faster."

"Trust me, the first thirty minutes they get here, they will be complaining like crazy," said Lee.

"Well, at least I got to complain earlier," said Zoey.

"You're still upset and you know you can't complain any more since Sam told you to keep quiet while we all think," said Mike.

Zoey threw him a look. "Just mind your own business," she said. "We have a song to work on."

Mike just shrugged his shoulders while Daniel and I just shook our heads at her and went back to looking at my notebook. Soon, the landline started to ring and Lee groaned in frustration.

"Looks like you also have too much on your plate, Lee," said Christine.

"You've no idea," said Lee as she went over to the landline and picked up the call.

I sang out what we had written so far as the chorus and when I asked the others how it was, Lee came over to interrupt us after that call on the phone.

"The others are here," she announced. "You all better brace yourselves."

"I've to be the one to do so," I said. "I'm the leader after all." I went on to address the others. "So what do you think? I feel we haven't really completed the chorus."

"I agree," said Daniel.

The others agreed too and while we continued to brainstorm for more creative lyrics, we heard the elevator down the hall open. BlackPink and WINNER were here.

I could hear them talking in the hall and I could tell they weren't happy. They soon came into the lounge and the five of us, Toxins and Lee, gave them nervous smiles.

"Hey, people," I said as I stood up from the floor. "How are you all doing?"

The two groups all answered at the same time in their own words that it became too much for my ears.

"Okay, chill out, everyone," I said as I raised my hand, signaling them to stop talking. Surprisingly, they did. "Why can't you all just sit down and relax for a bit? Talking like this won't help."

The two groups soon made themselves comfortable around the lounge. Some were seated on the floor with Daniel and Christine, while others were on the couch. Zoey soon joined the others on the floor while I remained standing in front of everyone, my back facing the flat screen TV on the wall. Lee also stood, but near the landline so as to pick it up when anyone called.

"Okay, I know everyone here is upset," I said. "So, for your wellbeing, a few of you can say a few words to vent out your anger."

There was an awkward silence as those seated in the lounge looked at one another. They were probably wondering why I said that. Some went on to look at me with confused looks on their faces.

"Wait, Sam," said Seunghoon. He was seated on the couch alongside Mike and Jinwoo. "You want us to say how we are feeling right now? Like how angry we are about the album?"

"Yes," I said. "We're going to treat this time like a therapy session."

"Okay," said Jennie who sat on the floor. She raised her hand and I allowed her to speak. "I want to say something." She stood up from the floor. "I am not happy about us making an album. I thought this weekend was meant for us to rest and worry about making a new song later. I wake up this morning, hoping it will be a good one, but no. I wake up to a message saying that we are making an album. This is so uncool!"

"Thank you, Jennie," I said. She sat back down. "Trust me, I was surprised when Collins told me the news himself. We were supposed to receive the news on Monday, but I guess it was a good thing he told me earlier. Or else, we would really have panicked."

Mino raised his hand, I made him go ahead and speak. "So, you're telling me that they didn't even reconsider us making it? Two singles wouldn't have been a problem and now we have to make an album? How many songs are going to be in this album?"

I rubbed my hands together. "Not more than five songs," I answered.

"Five songs!" came the chorus response from the others, except the Toxins. They started complaining again all at once.

"Guys, calm down!" I shouted, making sure my voice was much louder than theirs. Surprisingly, again, the noise slowly died down.

"I know," I continued, "that five songs is too much with the time that we have. But we wanted BTW to become an official group that we really didn't think about what might happen in the future."

My last statement got everyone there that they had sad, guilty faces. It was harsh, but that was the reality.

"Look, as little time as we have right now, we should all just try to relax. The other Toxins and I started working on a song. If you don't want to participate, it's fine, given the anger we all have and we can work on something on Monday. If others want to join us, they can stay."

"Our work just got harder, didn't it?" Jisoo asked.

"Ya, it did. So, who are going to stay?"

A moment passed and no one raised their hand. It felt a little disappointing but I had to be expectant of everything including this. I wouldn't blame them. We were all upset and tired. We just had a rough week and we were now getting into a more challenging one.

I was just about to say something to conclude the meeting when Jinwoo spoke first.

"I'll stay," he said.

"Really?" I asked as a smile appeared on my face.

"Sure, why not?" He smiled back at me.

"If Jinwoo is staying, then so will I," said Lisa who sat on the floor next to Zoey.

"Oh, yes!" Zoey exclaimed as she hugged Lisa seated next to her. "Someone to vent out my anger with."

"I'll stay too," said Mino.

"For my little kitten, I will stay," said Seunghoon.

"What the heck.., I'm in," said Seungyoon.

The other three BlackPink members agreed in unison that they would also stay. This was great. We were already working as a team and I couldn't have asked for anything better.

"This is great," I said. "I'm going to give us all some time to relax and work on the song later."

"You're right," said Seunghoon. "Working on this requires that we have a peaceful mind."

"Hey, are we all forgetting something?" Lisa asked.

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

"Just like every group, there's always supposed to be a leader. And as far as I know, BTW doesn't have one."

"That's true," said Jisoo.

"You said every group has a leader when that isn't always the case," said Christine.

"Oh, really?" Mike asked.

"Yep," Christine said with a smile. "So far, BlackPink is one of the K-Pop groups that have no leader."

"Oh, ya," said Mino. "That's true."

"I always thought Jennie or Lisa was the leader," said Daniel as he scratched his head. "I should have asked the first time we met."

"We believe all four of us are leaders," said Rosé. "So, there was no point in picking one amongst ourselves."

"For you to be so well coordinated as a group, you don't really need one," I said.

"I like the way you put it, Sam," said Jennie.

"Okay, back to the main issue at hand," said Seunghoon. "Who will be our leader?"

"We don't have to choose amongst ourselves because our managers already did it for us," said Zoey.

"Huh? Wait a minute," said Mino as he looked at Zoey. "How do you guys get all this first hand information before anyone else?"

"As much as there is a strict relationship between The Toxins and Collins, he gets to tell them what they need to know when it's necessary," said Lee.

"I wouldn't have put it in a much better sentence," said Mike as he looked at Lee.

"You guys seem to have fun with Collins," said Jinwoo.

"Fun with Collins?" Christine asked as she chuckled. "That's an understatement."

"You should hear what he calls us sometimes," said Zoey. "But we can't deny that we have our good moments with him."

"So, who's our leader?" Seungyoon asked.

"I am," I answered.

"Wow, really?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "We didn't get to pick earlier so our managers decided to give me the responsibility."

"Cool," said Jisoo. "If we had a chance to vote and you were one of the candidates, I would definitely vote for you."

"Fine with me," said Seunghoon. "As long as there's someone who is going to push us to do our best, I wouldn't have thought of anyone better."

"Ya, that's my best friend right there," said Zoey, showing her love and support.

"Thanks guys," I said. "Okay, we will get to work real soon. We just have to sort ourselves out with food and snacks first."

"I can do that," said Lee as she headed for the landline.

"Thanks, Lee. I better go get my guitar. The music isn't going to play itself."

As I made my way out of the lounge and Lee was on the landline, I noticed the others talk amongst themselves. They sounded more calm and happy. That was a good sign.

I went to my room to get the guitar I was given by Yang Hyun-suk when we went to film our music video at the water park. I had packed it in the closet. It was in a black guitar case with the initials "B.K" written in white. I removed the case and placed it on my bed. I opened the case and removed the guitar. I hadn't played the instrument for a while and I realised how much I had missed it.

I went back to the lounge with the guitar in hand. I passed Lee who was still talking on the landline.

"Wait, is that the guitar Yang Hyun-suk gave you when you went to shoot your music video?" Jinwoo asked.

"Yes, it is," I replied as I settled the guitar next to the side arm of one of the empty couches.

"Cool. So, when can we start on the song? I'm just dying to hear it."

"You guys will have to wait a little longer if you don't want to be disturbed by what's coming," said Lee after she put the receiver down.

"What's going on, Lee?" I asked.

"You're not going to like this. G-Dragon is here."

"What!" Zoey exclaimed as she stood up from the floor. "Why is he here?"

"This is bad. Real bad," said Daniel as he shook his head and had a disappointed look on his face.

"We should have thought of sealing this place up if we knew he was coming," said Christine.

"Are we missing something here?" Rosé asked. "This is G-Dragon we are talking about. Why do you worry if he comes here?"

"Goodness," said Daniel as he looked at Rosé. "Don't you guys remember?"

"Remember what?" Mino asked.

"That there was one person who didn't like the idea of BTW becoming official?" I asked. "Now he is here and he isn't going to stop taunting us."

"Aigoo," said Jennie as she hit her forehead. "How can I forget?"

"Now that we are all here, he's definitely going to taunt us for sure," said Seungyoon.

"He wouldn't be here if he didn't know about the album and all of BTW meeting at this point in time. So, how did he know?" I asked as I turned to look at Zoey.

"Don't look at me," she said as she raised her hands. "I didn't tell him anything, I swear."

"I didn't say anything to him either," said Mike.

"Me neither," said Daniel.

"Ummm," said Lisa. Everyone's eyes flew to her. "I might have told him on our way here."

Everyone muttered out loud, including myself, in disapproval. This wasn't good.

"I'm sorry, guys," said Lisa with a guilty look on her face. "I didn't know it would be such a big deal if he knew."

"He was going to know anyway," I said. "We just didn't want him to know today when we want to start working on a song."

"I bet he is one floor away from us right now," said Seunghoon.

"What are we going to do?" Zoey asked.

"We can't do anything," I said. "If he's going to taunt us, then so be it."

"Really? I'm going to jump on him like a bobcat and seal his mouth shut if we don't come up with a plan."

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "sorry, Zoey. If we knew like thirty minutes ago that he was coming, we would have thought of something. It's too late now."

The lounge became quiet when we heard the sound of the elevator. Great, he was here. Everyone else in the lounge didn't say a word as we heard footsteps in the hall.

I could feel Zoey beside me grow tense. Everybody was. It felt like we were in a horror movie and were waiting for the worst case scenario when the bogeyman shows up. In this case, our bogeyman was G-Dragon.

He soon appeared in the lounge and just like most of us, he wore simple casual clothes. He stopped when he noticed all of us looking at him.

"Morning, everyone," he said as he took his black shades off of his eyes. He even had a smug smile on his face. "It's fancy meeting you all this lovely morning."

This time, it didn't feel like a horror movie. It was something else entirely. With that smile on G-Dragon's face, we all became irritated. I felt like going with Zoey's plan, attack him and seal his mouth shut.

"What's wrong with everyone?" he asked when no one responded to his greeting. "Aren't you going to greet me? Remember that that isn't respectful."

"Sam, please talk to him before I put my hands on his neck," said Zoey, through her clenched teeth.

I rolled my eyes and I walked over to him. We were looking straight at each other.

"May I ask what you're doing here?" I asked.

"I just came by to say hi to you all," he replied with a smile on his face.

"Really? Aren't you surprised that BlackPink and WINNER are here?" I asked as I folded my arms.

G-Dragon looked at everyone in the room. Everyone else looked like they were about to tear him apart like hungry wolves. His eyes flew back to me.

"Why should I? After all, you guys are doing something for you to meet, right?" he chuckled.

"I know Lisa informed you, so don't you act smart, GD."

"I'm not. I just wanted to see what you all are up to. By the looks on everyone's faces, you're all very upset. What's up?"

"We had a rough morning, as you can see. And you being here is just making things worse."

"Really? I wasn't the one who wanted BTW to be a thing, did I?"

"Okay, you're not helping," I said as I quickly approached him and I did what I should have done before he even opened his mouth.

Kick him out.

I took hold of his shoulders and I quickly turned him around. He was surprised by my strength as I started to push him out of the lounge with my hands on his back.

"Whoa! Sam, what are you doing?" he asked.

"What do you think?" I asked.

Before I could drag him out into the hall, he turned around and looked at me.

"Are you kicking me out?" he asked.

"Is that what's happening?" I asked sounding clueless as I put my hands on my hips. "It seems so."

"What did I do? I haven't done anything wrong."

"You being here is already wrong to begin with. And I'm sorry, but nobody wants you around, including me. That's if you want all of us to attack you."

"You wouldn't do it even if you wanted to."

I took a step to the side and pointed at Zoey's angry face. "Do you see her face right now? We know why you're here and all we want to do is get to work. You being here will prove to be a distraction because you will just taunt us."

"But I want to stay. I promise, I won't say a word."

I shook my head at him. "I can't trust you to be quiet. Your presence isn't needed here."

I held his shoulders again and turned him around like I did before. This time, I managed to take him out into the hall, heading to the elevator.

"Come on, Sam," said G-Dragon. It's good that he didn't fight back or else terrible things would have happened. "I really want to stay."

We stopped in front of the elevator and I pressed the down button to summon the elevator. The doors soon flew open and I continued to drag G-Dragon into the elevator. I quickly pressed the button to the ground floor and I quickly stepped out. I turned to look at him and he did the same to look at me.

"You're really kicking me out?" he asked.

"Yes, I am," I said.

G-Dragon looked at me with a surprised look on his face as the doors started to close. He would be back for us, that's for sure. But for now, he just had to go.

Just before the doors closed shut, I threw him a hand salute and I winked at him at the same time. I might have seen him blush in those last moments. I really couldn't tell. I was just glad he was gone.

"Oooh! Sam, you're my hero," said Zoey as she came into the hall and hugged me from behind. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Don't praise me just yet," I said as I detached her arms around my neck. "Knowing G-Dragon, he isn't going to give in that easily."

Zoey and I made our way back into the lounge. I could tell the others were still uneasy despite G-Dragon leaving.

"What do you mean he isn't going to give up?" Zoey asked. "You just kicked him out."

"He will come back in one way or another," I said. "I bet he won't even leave the hotel premises."

"Can you really be sure about that?" Seungyoon asked.

"Not really, no."

"So, before he comes back, we better start working on that song," said Jisoo.

"You're right. Let's start. Hopefully, there will be no more distractions. Daniel, pass me my notebook, please."

Daniel, still seated on the floor, stretched out his hand to give me the note book. I took it and went over to the dining table and got myself a chair. I put the chair in front of everyone so that I would face them like before. I took the guitar and sat. I settled the note book on the arm chair of the couch close to me.

"Okay, everyone, let's get started," I said as I looked at everyone else in the room.

I then started to explain to the others what the song was all about. They were a number of questions that came from the BlackPink and WINNER members who were a bit confused. The song talked about a sad song so they wondered how it was going to sound fun for those listening. After explaining to them in more detail, they finally got the hint. I was just about to read out the lyrics for the chorus when my phone that was lying on the empty couch next to me, started to ring.

"Who could be calling me right now?" I asked as I picked up the phone. "Hello?" I asked after I answered the call.

"Hey, Sam, can I come up now?" came G-Dragon's voice.

"What the-?" I stared at my phone as though at any moment, it would have teeth and bite me. I placed back the phone to my ear. "Why aren't you calling me using your phone?"

"If I called using my phone, you wouldn't pick up."

I rolled my eyes. He got that one right.

"And to answer your question, no. You can't come here," I said.

I cut the phone and put it back down on the couch.

"That was G-Dragon?" Christine asked. I nodded my head. "What's his problem?"

"He wants to come back up here," I answered. "Let's just ignore that he even called."

I picked up the notebook on the couch and just as I was about to read out the lyrics, Zoey's phone rang. She immediately stood up from the floor and excused herself as she went out of the lounge to take the call.

Since Zoey knew the lyrics, I opened my mouth to read them out when we all heard her raise her voice.

"For crying out loud, Jiyong, no one wants you up here!" she exclaimed. "Good day!"

"Ooh," said Daniel as he looked behind him towards the hall. "Zoey is really angry."

Zoey came back into the lounge and she did look angry. But instead of complaining, she came and sat back down on the floor.

"We can continue," she said to me as though nothing had happened.

I looked at her first before I looked at everybody else in the room. I had a feeling one of our phones were going to ring, so, I took a long pause before getting back to business.

"Sam, what's the hold up?" Rosé asked.

"Just checking that we won't have another call from G-Dragon," I answered.

"No one's phone is ringing," said Jinwoo. "We can carry on."

"Okay," I said. My sixth sense on high alert.

I looked at the notebook and as I read the lyrics in my head, I started to think of the tune I thought of earlier and how I was going to play it. I strummed a few strings on the guitar until the tune felt just right. I played the tune over and over again so that I would never forget it. I turned to look at everyone seated in front of me and they were all listening attentively. I noticed Seunghoon unconsciously move his head up and down, enjoying the tune.

I started to sing out the first lyrics when all of the sudden, the landline started to ring. But since Lee was already there and was expecting calls from reporters, she quickly picked up the phone. A few seconds on the phone and she soon interrupted me.

"Sam," she called out to me. I stopped what I was doing as I turned to look at her.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's G-Dragon," she answered. "Apparently, he's causing quite a scene in the lobby and the receptionist needs you down there immediately."

Many of us muttered. G-Dragon really wasn't going to quit. And I had mentioned that he wouldn't just a few minutes ago.

"Why can't they just call security?" Jennie asked.

Lee winced. "I'm afraid they can't do that," she said. "He plans on suing every hotel staff if they dare try and touch him. He wants Sam to go down there and bring him back up here."

I sighed. I had to admit, he was very clever. Seems like he won this round. But the battle was far from over.

"Fine," I said as I stood up and put the guitar down on the couch.

"Are you sure?" Lisa asked. "You know we don't need him here."

"We don't want the hotel management to launch a complaint against us, do we? We have no choice. We bring him up here but I'll make sure to shut him up, if necessary."

"We would have been done with the chorus by now if it wasn't for him," said Zoey.

"Don't worry, Zoey," I said. "This time I'll give you the chance to attack him when I tell you to."

Zoey rubbed her hands together as she had a devious smile on her face. "Ooh, I'll do it with pleasure."

"I don't want to know what Zoey is going to do," said Mino.

"Neither of us want to," I said.

I started to make my way out of the lounge and approached the elevator. I heard footsteps behind me as soon as I pressed the down button of the elevator. I turned to see who it was. It was Christine and Seungyoon.

"We're coming with you," said Seungyoon.

"Okay," I said. "But it's not like I can't handle him."

"We know," said Christine. "We just want to help in any way we can."

I smiled at the both of them and the elevator doors flew open behind me.

"Okay," I said. "Let's go get ourselves a dragon."

The three of us entered the elevator and Seungyoon pressed the button to the ground floor. The elevator doors closed before us and it started to move.

"G-Dragon is really taking things too far, isn't he?" Christine asked.

"Yep," I agreed.

The elevator continued to move until we found ourselves on the ground floor. As soon as the doors flew open, we saw that the people's attention in the lobby was focused on something. We had no doubt it was G-Dragon. The three of us got out of the elevator and joined the crowd.

G-Dragon was in the middle of the lobby and he looked to be standing on something because he was taller than anyone else in the room. Some of the people who watched also had their phones drawn out, capturing G-Dragon. We found him in the middle of his speech talking about something, but in Korean.

"What's he saying, Seungyoon?" Christine asked.

"Umm," Seungyoon continued to listen until he turned to Christine and I. "He says he's going to do something if Sam doesn't come to get him."

"Sometimes, I wonder if he came here already drunk," I said.

"Don't you think we should do something before he really does what he said he will do?" Christine asked.

"Ya, we should. We really have to stop this nonsense. Seungyoon, may you lead the way?"

Seungyoon slowly made his way into the crowd, excusing himself as he went. Christine and I followed behind him until we got to where G-Dragon was. He was actually standing on a tall wooden stool. G-Dragon soon saw us and he smiled.

"Hey, GD," I said to him. "May you please come down from there? You might hurt yourself."

"Okay, since you asked me to, I'll do it," he said. He soon addressed the crowd and I heard him give out an apology with his hands together. I guess he explained the reason why he wasn't going to do what he did since I was here.

The crowd that had gathered to watch soon let out sighs of disapproval like their favourite show had just been cancelled. Soon, they slowly started to disperse, heading back to what they were doing before G-Dragon made a scene. I saw a few young people take pictures and videos of us.

"Goodness," said G-Dragon as he came down the stool. "I'm so glad you came just in time."

"Why?" I asked as I folded my arms. "You were about to do some silly stunt that would land you in the hospital, weren't you?"

G-Dragon raised an eyebrow at me. He seemed startled and that was a sign that I was right.

"Well..., not really," he said as he scratched the back of his head.

"I know we have only known each other for a few weeks, but I think I know when you're on the verge of doing something ridiculous."

"Have I ever done anything ridiculous in front of you?" G-Dragon asked.

"I just know," I said. "There was a time when you took the other Toxins with you to the water park. That was silly of you because we had an interview and you never picked up any of my calls. Secondly, you dropped me into the pool in the most dramatic way possible."

"Wow, he dropped you into the pool?" Seungyoon asked.

"Yep," I answered Seungyoon. "That was when I knew how to determine if he was going to do anything ridiculous like that ever again."

"Okay, you got me," said G-Dragon. "There is just no out smarting you, is there?"

"Come on. We have wasted so much time down here. We have a song to work on."

I started my way towards the elevator, Christine and Seungyoon followed alongside me with G-Dragon behind us.

We soon found ourselves in the elevator, G-Dragon being the last to enter. We soon felt the elevator move and for a moment, there was silence.

"So, umm," G-Dragon said to break the silence. "Zoey is going to kill me, isn't she?"

"No doubt about that," said Seungyoon.

"So, this is how it's going to work," I said as I stared at G-Dragon's back as he was standing in front of me. "You're going to mind your own business when we get to our floor. Any nonsense from you and I won't be able to control my best friend when she attacks, got it?"

He turned around to look at me. "Does that mean you're going to let her attack me?"

Christine smiled at him. "Do we have a choice?" she asked.

We soon arrived on our floor and I was glad to see that there was no one standing outside the elevator. While we were in it, I thought of Zoey and the four BlackPink members waiting outside with duct tape and some rope so as to tie and shut G-Dragon up. That didn't seem like a very bad idea. We should have done that to him in the first place.

We walked out of the elevator and headed for the lounge, when G-Dragon started to announce to the others:

"Hey, people. I'm back!"

As soon as we entered the lounge, we found everyone else looking back at us. They hadn't moved from where they sat. Lee on the other hand, was on the phone, engaged in a conversation. But her eyes flew towards G-Dragon, and I could tell how irritated she was that he was back.

"I see no one missed me," said G-Dragon.

"Don't worry, we were planning for your funeral," said Zoey as she looked at him from the floor. "I bet in that way, we will greatly miss you."

"Yep," said Jennie.

"You guys are just vultures," said G-Dragon as he came to sit on the empty couch where my guitar rested.

"Says the person who only came here to make fun of us about us making an album," said Mino.

"Sam warned me that I should keep my mouth shut. And I'm going to do just that."

"Good," I said as I made my way to sit on the chair I had sat on earlier. Seungyoon and Christine went back to where they previously sat too. "I'm glad you understood my warning. Now, I want you to go to the dining area and sit there."

"What?" G-Dragon looked baffled by my request.

I nudged my head towards the dinning table. "You heard me. I want you to go over there and sit. And you won't say a word. Or else, I'll tell Zoey to work on that mouth of yours."

G-Dragon turned to look at Zoey sitting next to him with his mouth silently open for he was trying to say something, but no word came out. Zoey on the other hand, waved at him with a devious smile on her face.

"Wait, Sam," he said as he turned to look at me. "What if I want to give you some advice on what you're working on?"

"We will simply ask," said Rosé.

"That's your answer," I said. "Now, can you please leave?"

G-Dragon didn't like the idea of him sitting in the dining area. It could show all over his face.

"You're so unfair," he said. "You know, I'm older than-"

At the same time, all of us interrupted him by telling him to move out and go to the dining area. We said different things at the same time that there was a clash of words and a lot of noise. Some of us even pointed to him towards the dining area as if we were telling a child to go to their room after doing something wrong.

G-Dragon quickly stood up from his seat and made his way to the dining area. As much as he tried to hide that he wasn't upset, we could tell from his body language that he was.

"Okay," I said after I heard G-Dragon pulling out a chair and dragging it across the floor. "Let's get back to business, shall we?"

And for a good fifteen minutes, we continued working on the song with no distractions. Apparently, G-Dragon was behaving quite well without interrupting us. He had Lee for company when she wasn't picking up any calls. As for us, working on the song turned out to be quite fun.

It was almost close to lunch time and Lee ordered sandwiches for us. They were soon brought up by two of the hotel staff. It was then that I declared that we take a break and have something to eat.

"Goodness, I'm starving," said Daniel as he was the first to stand up and approach the serving trolleys where there seemed to be a stockpile of tuna and salmon sandwiches.

"Me too," said Lisa. "I never thought I would be so hungry."

"Hey!" G-Dragon asked as he came over from the dining area. "Am I allowed to say something now?"

I stood up from my chair after putting my guitar aside and gave myself a good stretch. After I was done, I noticed that G-Dragon was looking at me. I turned to look at him.

"What?" I asked.

"Am I allowed to speak?" he asked.

"Oh, ya, we're on a break. But no funny comments on the album thing. You did a good job keeping to yourself back there."

"What choice did I have?" he asked as he looked at Zoey who had just stood up from the floor. She realised that he was talking about her.

"Don't look at me, like that," she said. "You brought this on yourself."

"Really? It's not my fault that you guys are making a-"

"Shhh!" Daniel warned him. "No comment on the album, remember? And, Lee," he turned to look at Lee, who was at the time, seated in the dining area, "aren't you coming to eat with us? You know some of us won't spare these lovely looking sandwiches."

"For you to call them 'lovely' you're starving," said Lee as she came over to where Daniel was with the food.

"He isn't the only one," said Seunghoon.

"Okay, guys, let's go eat," said Mike.

Everyone else made a line by the serving trolley while one of the hotel staff who brought up the food, served us. The other was serving everyone else drinks in glass cups. I decided to stay behind while I watched the rest of my team complain about how hungry they were.

"Hey," said G-Dragon as he came to stand beside me. "Aren't you hungry?"

"I am, but at the moment, I don't have much of an appetite," I answered.

"Why? Because of what you're working on?"

I stared at him with my eyebrow raised and he quickly went straight to cover his mouth. I could tell how scared he was that I ended up laughing at him. In the end, he knew I was just messing with him as he slowly dropped his hand.

"You should really see your face right now," I said as I continued to laugh.

"You're so mean, you know that?"

"Really? I thought I was nice."

G-Dragon ended up smiling as he said, "you are. But there are times when you seem pretty mean and sarcastic."

"Am like that when I'm dealing with something serious and I need everyone to focus and not mess around."

"Mmm. Now I see why you're The Toxins leader. Wait a minute, who's the leader of BTW?"

"Who do you think?" Daniel responded to G-Dragon's question as he was carrying a plate with two sandwiches on it, a glass of juice in his other hand and heading for the dining table to eat from there.

G-Dragon turned to me and pointed his finger at me. In response, I nodded my head.

"Well, I'm not at all surprised," he said. "This group needs a leader like you."

"Depends on how much trouble they will give me. Then I can easily quit and give the responsibility over to Zoey or Mino."

"Haha!" came Zoey with her plate and cup as she settled in the lounge area on one of the chairs. "Tell me you're kidding, Sam?"

"Of course she is," said Mino as he came to join Zoey after getting his plate. "She can't simply give up and give either you or me the responsibility."

I raised an eyebrow at them and even though they were right, I would like to put them to the task at some point and see how it feels being on my end for a while.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you that the song you're working on sounds awesome," said G-Dragon.

"Thanks," Zoey, Mino and I said at the same time.

"May you two come over here and get your food, please," said Lee as she already had a plate and heading towards the dining table to join Daniel. "Daniel here might go for another round and there will be no sandwiches left."

"She's not kidding," said Daniel. He had already finished his first sandwich and now, he was half way down with his second.

"My brother has an appetite," I said as I looked at him.

"Well, you already knew that," said Christine as she also came to join Mino and Zoey on the couch.

"Come on, GD. Let's go get our sandwiches."

"Goodness, I haven't been online for a long time now," said Jennie as she and Lisa went over to join the others in the lounge area.

"Oh!" Zoey said. "I also haven't been online too. I might miss out on the juicy gossip."

"You worry about what's going on that isn't much of your concern," said Mike.

"Please, Mike," said Zoey. "You almost sound like your sister. Where did I put my phone....? Ah!! Mino, can you pass me your phone, it's right next to you."

I looked over at Mino and Zoey and I saw him pass over the phone to her. As she ate, she managed to scroll through her phone checking on who knows what.

G-Dragon was right behind me in the line. We were the last two to get our sandwiches. Everyone else was seated in the lounge area, so, I decided to join Lee and Daniel at the dining table. I was also going to give Daniel the good news that there were plenty more sandwiches left.

After I got my sandwiches and my juice, I started my way to the dining table when I heard Zoey behind me ask:

"Hey, Sam, what happened downstairs with G-Dragon? I see some posts here. And is that G-Dragon on some stool or something?"

"You don't want to know," said Seungyoon.

"I would trust what he says if I were you," said G-Dragon.

"Whatever," said Zoey as I sat next to my brother at the dining table. "You shouldn't be taking up people's time for nothing. You're such a distraction."

"A handsome distraction," said G-Dragon and I caught him just in time smiling at the others.

"I beg to differ," I muttered under my breath that only Lee and Daniel could hear. In the end, they started to laugh.

"What is it?" G-Dragon asked, making his way towards the dining table.

"Nothing," Daniel managed to say, trying to keep his laughter in.

"There are more sandwiches for you if want some," I told him.

"Yes, more for me." Daniel stood up from his seat as he quickly rushed over to the trolley, passing G-Dragon in flashing speed.

G-Dragon went to sit next to Lee across the table. I munched on my sandwich as I looked up at G-Dragon. He was staring at me.

"What?" I asked after I swallowed.

"Nothing," he said. "And here I thought you weren't hungry."

"I need to eat at some point, don't I?"

"Sam isn't much of a eater," said Lee. "If she works on a song and doesn't eat the whole day, she tires out and sleeps without even thinking of eating at all."

"Ya, working on a song makes me forget to eat," I said. "That's why it's good to have people around to monitor me just in case."

"I also look out for you too," said Daniel as he came back with two more sandwiches.

I smiled at him. "I know you do."

"Well, someone over here is barely eating at all as she is busy looking at the phone," said Jisoo.

"Sorry," said Zoey. "I'll put my phone down in three.., two..., one..."

I looked over at Zoey and I noticed that she still had the phone in her hand. I furrowed my eyebrows. Usually when she does her countdown to stop doing something, she does it. But this time, she didn't put her phone away.

"Hey, Zoey, are you okay?" Mino asked.

"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" Zoey muttered to herself.

"That many 'nos'," said Lee as she also looked over at Zoey. "Something is definitely wrong."

"Hey, Zoey, what is it?" Christine asked.

"Hold this for me, will you?" Zoey gave Mino her plate as she stood up from the couch. "Sam!!" she called out to me as she came running over to the dining table.

"Zoey? What's wrong?" I asked as I stood up from my seat.

"He's here, Sam, he's here," she said waving her hands in the air.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Johnny. Johnny Jerkins is here!"

"What?!" me and the rest of the other Toxins responded at the same time. We all couldn't believe the news.

"And guess what?" Zoey continued. "He knows we are here and he will be residing in this hotel."

"We're doomed. We're so doomed," Christine muttered to herself as she held her head in despair.

I took Zoey's phone and checked it out. Daniel also stood up to see for himself. Zoey wasn't kidding. He had posted on Twitter about his whereabouts a few minutes ago. He was here in Korea.

"Great! As though G-Dragon wasn't much of a distraction, now we have to deal with Johnny," said Mike.

"Some of us are lost here," said G-Dragon. "Who is this Johnny?"

Daniel and Zoey looked at me. This meant we had no choice but to tell everyone about Johnny. The five of us Toxins didn't like to talk about him, not going much into details.

"Fine," I said. "We will tell you."


	31. Chapter 30: Johnny Jerkins

"This is just weird," said Mike.

"It's weird for me too," said Christine.

"Me three," said Daniel.

"We better hurry, though," said Zoey. "We don't have much time."

"I agree," Mike said, then his eyes flew to me. "So, Sam, are you ready to do the honours?"

"Not really," I answered.

"Hey, guys?" G-Dragon called out to the five of us. "We're waiting here."

"Hold your horses, GD, we're coming," Zoey said as she turned her head to look at him.

I took in a deep breath. "Ok, let's do this."

"Wait!" Daniel exclaimed before we dispersed. "Are you sure telling them is a good idea?"

"We just discussed this, Daniel," said Mike.

"I know. I just want to see if we're all sure."

"We'll be okay," I said as I held his shoulder for he was standing next to me. "You can be assured of that."

Daniel nodded his head as we soon broke away from the little group discussion the five of us had.

Everyone else was seated in the lounge while the five of us had our little discussion in the dining area and then came back to join the rest. The other four Toxins sat while I remained standing. This time around, Lee and G-Dragon were seated with the others in the lounge.

"Okay, I don't know how to put this," I said, "we don't like to talk about this subject."

"We can see that," said Lee. "Is it really serious?"

"Umm, not really, no," I said as I cupped my hands together.

"Then why did you all freak out upon hearing his name?" Mino asked. "I swear, Zoey looked like she was about to have a heart attack."

"She always looks like that when she's freaking out," said Christine.

"No, I don't," said Zoey.

Christine smiled at her. "Okay, sometimes."

"Wait, but if Sam says all this isn't serious, why is it that you all reacted like your worst nightmare came to life?" Jennie asked.

"Because it did," Daniel answered.

Jennie shook her head at Daniel and scoffed. "You five are seriously the most dramatic people I have ever met."

"But we love them anyway," said Lee.

"At least I'm not the only dramatic one," said Zoey.

"Okay, guys, look," I said, bringing them back to the matter, "all I can say is, this Johnny issue might not be serious to you, but it is to the five of us."

"Then tell us why it bothers you that he is here," said Seunghoon.

"That's where I am getting to. Now, can you all keep quiet and listen."

"Sure," said Lisa. "I love a good story."

"Do you guys remember when we made our way to Times Square?" I asked.

"Yes, we do," said Jinwoo.

"Well, do you remember when Zoey and the others talked about a guy I punched when we were back in high school?"

"Oh, yes!" Jisoo said. "The guy you were talking about was Johnny."

"Exactly." I smiled at her.

"So, you punched the guy and then what; you made an enemy out of him and you've been that way ever since?" G-Dragon asked.

"Yaaa..., the problem is, that wasn't the first time we ever had such an encounter with him."

"For as long as we can remember, Johnny was always teasing us till he finally graduated," said Mike.

"And why was that?" Jinwoo asked.

"Because he liked Sam," said Daniel.

"Really? I thought he liked me," said Zoey. Everyone else apart from us, Toxins, looked at her with puzzling looks. Soon, she laughed and waved her hand. "I'm kidding. He really did like Sam."

"He liked Sam that he pretended to like Zoey to try and get closer to Sam," said Christine.

Zoey's face grew grim and I knew she was remembering what happened at that time. "Ya, he is such a jerk," she said.

"An awful jerk," said Daniel.

"When he did that, we had had enough of him and we tried our best to avoid him," I said. "But since he was the most popular guy in school, it was difficult. That's when a lot of incidents started happening. Like fights, including me punching him in the face when we were in the school bus."

"And you never got in trouble for it," said Seunghoon, as he smirked.

"But when we tried to get back at him, it would always backfire," said Mike.

Christine laughed. "I remember when you tried to put a gecko in his locker during football practise and the coach caught you," she said.

"Well, the good thing was he hadn't seen me try to remove the gecko from my backpack. He was just curious and he let me go when I lied that I was looking for something. I did feel bad for not putting it in there."

"He didn't like such things, did he?" Zoey asked.

"No, he didn't," I said. "Remember during biology class in 11th grade when we were told to dissect a frog? He let out a scream even before his partner laid a knife on the thing."

"That news went round school like wild fire," said Christine.

"Ya and the school made a big deal out of it."

"So let me get this straight," said Lee, "you guys don't like this Johnny because he liked Sam and he tried to use Zoey just to get to Sam?"

I looked at Zoey whom I also found looking back at me. I looked over at Mike who was looking at Daniel, and then he went on to look at me. Christine and Zoey shared a look before Christine went on to look at Daniel. Daniel also returned her look and then he went on to look at me. I then turned to look at Christine, who was also looking back at me.

"Wait, a minute," said Rosé. "What's with that look?"

"What look?" Daniel asked.

"The look that you all shared just now. I saw it and you can't deny it."

"Wait, is it the look that they give one another and then they pass it on to the next?" Lee asked.

Rosé nodded.

"They do that when there's more to the story," said Lee as she looked at me. "Don't think I don't know."

"Well, for now, all you can know is what we've told you so far," I said. "Johnny is a jerk."

"Johnny is a jerk," said the other four Toxins all together, like a jury condemning a criminal.

"Okay...," said Mino, "but all that was when some of you were in high school. Maybe he's changed."

"Or he's still the same," said Mike.

"I'm sticking with Mike on this one," said Zoey.

"I'm with Mino," said Seungyoon. "People change and whatever he did in the past doesn't have to stick with you guys right now."

"You're right on that one, Seungyoon," I said. "But some of us are going to keep our guard up. A leopard doesn't change its spots."

"So are we going to continue working on the song or what?" Jennie asked.

"Looking at the time, I think we can work on it for like an hour," I said as I looked at the time on the clock on the wall behind me.

"Well, I would like to stay and see how this thing goes, but I have to be somewhere," said G-Dragon as he stood up from the couch.

"Really?" Christine asked. "It looked like you had no plans but to taunt us this weekend."

"Trust me, the news about you guys making an album, is hilarious." We all threw him a look and he quickly changed his statement. "I mean, it's shocking."

"Where do you have to be anyway for you to leave so early?" Jisoo asked.

"I've been invited to a party," said G-Dragon with a smile on his face.

"Awww," Zoey muttered angrily. "Can I come? I know I won't be able to go with this album thing going on."

"You're right," said Lee. "Collins will kill you if you go."

"And I don't think I'm in a mood for it." Zoey shrugged her shoulders. "I don't even know why I asked. I still feel exhausted with all that happened yesterday."

"Alright, then," said G-Dragon. "Your loss."

"Not everyone is going to cry about it," Mike said.

G-Dragon went round the couch as he started to make his way out of the lounge. "I'll see you all later. All the best with the album, and make sure to see all the pics I'm going to post on Instagram."

We all waved at him and said bye. Some of us told him to have a good time. As soon as he left, I quickly took his seat next to Lee. I felt exhausted, that I dropped next to her like a rock.

"You seem tired," said Jennie as she looked at me with a worried look. "Is it about Johnny?"

"I don't even want to think about him," I said as I rubbed my face. "I already feel pressured with this album thing."

"Ya, we all are," said Lisa.

"Why don't you all meet tomorrow or on Monday?" Lee suggested. "You've made progress on the song and as much as you want to continue, you all look tired."

I looked at everyone seated in the lounge and I could see what Lee meant. I hadn't seen how tired we all looked. We didn't seem that way at first, but we did now.

"Lee is right," I said. "We all need to rest."

"Now that you've mentioned it...," Seungyoon started to say but he ended up stretching his arms out wide and yawned. "... I think I need a nap."

"Then we can meet later, maybe tomorrow after we've had enough rest," I said as I also yawned. Goodness! Yawning is definitely contagious.

Everyone agreed and we all stood up from our seats. We started to make our way to the elevator, escorting BlackPink and WINNER.

"Hey, I hope you guys don't go looking for trouble with Johnny," said Rosé as she summoned the elevator.

"With an album to make and longing for some sleep, not in a million years," said Zoey.

"We won't even bother knowing his room number, trust me," said Daniel.

"Okay, we sure hope so," said Seunghoon.

The doors to the elevator slid open and we all said goodbye to each other as the other two groups entered the elevator.

After the doors closed, Daniel yawned. "It's a good thing we ended this meeting," he said.

"Come on you, Toxins," said Lee as she stood behind us in the hall. "There's still time for all of you to catch up with sleep."

"Ya, let's go," said Christine as she turned around and stretched out her arms. "I can't stay up any longer."

The five of us all made our way to our rooms. It was three going to four in the afternoon and it was the perfect time to have a good sleep before waking up in the evening.

As Zoey closed the door behind her after we entered our room, I removed my phone in my pocket and threw it onto the bed and made a bee-line for the bathroom. I had to get out whatever I had in my system before going to bed.

When I was done, I went back into the bedroom and found Zoey already on her bed and inside the bed covers. She looked like she had just fallen asleep.

"Zoey?" I called out to her.

"Mmm," she opened one eye. "What is it?"

"I thought you had fallen asleep," I said as I dropped onto my bed.

"I was until you called out my name." She closed her open eye.

"Sorry." I put my phone aside, next to the bed lamp. I drew away my bed covers and covered myself with them. "You usually fall asleep so easily."

"I know." Zoey smiled, still with her eyes closed.

I lay my head on the pillow, preparing myself for sleep. I felt all the weight in my head fall onto the pillow and I realised how tired I was. I wanted to check on something on my phone, but with my whole body on the bed, it wasn't worth it. I was too tired to even lift a finger. I would check it out later.

I felt my eyelids get heavier and heavier. I was just about to close my eyes when Zoey called out to me:

"Sam?"

"Yes, Zoey?" I responded, my eyes itching for some sleep.

"Do you think Johnny will trouble us like he did before now that he's here?"

"Well, I hope not. I hope he's really changed like the others said. We don't need his melodrama right now."

"Ya, you're right." Zoey yawned. "I hope he's changed too."

And just like that, our conversation ended. The last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep, was looking at the window and up at the clear blue sky. Looking at it brought a certain calmness in me. Or was it because I was just tired? It didn't matter. I felt my body relax like I was floating on a cloud. Then I knew nothing more afterwards.


	32. Chapter 31: Last Saturday Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Toxins are well rested but when the others don't show for the meeting, they discover what happened the night before.

I poured myself a cup of orange juice as I looked at Christine who sat across from me at the table, having a bite of her toast. I looked at her and realised that she seemed more vibrant today. Was it because of the extra sleep we had yesterday?

I heard footsteps coming into the lounge and I turned to see Zoey approaching the table.

"Morning, girls," she said as she drew out a chair next to mine and sat down with a bright smile on her face.

"Morning," Christine and I answered at the same time.

"You ladies look very bright this morning," she said as she took a plate and placed it in front of her.

"So do you," said Christine as she took another bite out of her french toast.

"I guess the sleep we had really worked wonders," I said.

"Really?" Zoey asked as she looked at me and held her cheeks with her fingers as though she was massaging them. "Do I look like extra extra pretty?"

I smiled at her. "You've always looked pretty, Zoey."

"Morning, people," said Mike as both him and Daniel appeared and came straight for the table.

"Morning," we answered him. I gave Daniel, a bright smile. He smiled back.

"What's with Zoey feeling like she's all pretty?" Mike asked as he took a seat right next to Christine and Daniel sat right next to Zoey.

"Can't you see that I'm glowing?" Zoey asked as she beamed at Mike. "Sam says the extra sleep we had must have helped."

"Enough sleep is good for the body," said Daniel as he took the jug of orange juice.

"Are we going to meet with the others today and finish up on the song?" Mike asked as he looked at me.

"I haven't communicated with either of the two groups yet," I said.

"Mmm..., funny," said Zoey as she lifted her toast and looked at it like she was observing it. "I haven't been on my phone since last night."

"Really, that's all you can think about?" Christine asked.

"Well..., I guess we were all tired and needed a break. Besides, last night was quite fun."

"Tell me about it," said Daniel as he held a slice of toast and took a bite.

After we went to catch up on sleep yesterday afternoon, we woke up around 7PM and we all met in the lounge where we ended up playing board games with Lee. Before supper, Collins arrived and joined in on the fun and we told him about our progress on the new song. After supper, we all sat down to watch the Korean drama series, "Boys Over Flowers." We went to bed an hour early before our usual bedtime.

"We should have more sleeping hours, don't you think?" Mike asked.

"With what we are working on right now, I doubt it," I said. "Maybe after we finally head back home."

"This album is going to kill us," said Zoey as she leaned her head back and looked up at the ceiling in frustration.

"You have to check up on these guys and ask if we're going to meet," said Christine as she looked at me.

"After breakfast," I said. I took a sip of my juice.

As we continued to have our breakfast and talked about the snakes and ladders game we had yesterday, Lee and Collins came into the lounge. Lee was taking down something on her tablet while Collins talked to her, almost like he was giving her instructions. I couldn't hear what he was saying because he talked in a low tone and Zoey at the same time was the one talking at the table.

"All I am saying is," she said, "if Daniel wasn't so lucky, I would have won that game."

"Too bad you got eaten by the snake towards the end," said Daniel as he smiled at Zoey.

"Sometimes I think you cheat."

"Cheating in snakes and ladders is almost impossible," said Christine as I saw her shrug her shoulders. "That's if you have the super power to row the dice to the number that's most suitable."

"Morning," said Collins as he and Lee came towards us. "I see Zoey still hasn't gotten over that snakes and ladders game."

Zoey looked down at her empty plate, not daring to look up at Collins. "Not really," she said.

"Will all of BTW be meeting today to continue working on the song?" Collins asked as he looked at me.

"I have to communicate with them and see if it's possible," I answered.

"Well, I sure hope so. I told Yang Hyun-suk that you already started. He wants to hear it tomorrow, so I really hope you do make progress."

"I better go give them a call, then."

I drew my chair back and left the table. I later found myself back in the room I shared with Zoey. I went straight for my phone that was beside the bed lamp. It felt like it had stayed there for a very long time because I barely touched it last night.

I checked my lock screen and found no messages whatsoever. Maybe its because I hadn't turned the wifi on on my phone. After I unlocked it and switched on the wifi, notifications came flooding in almost at the same time most of them from social networks like Instagram and Twitter. I ignored them all as I went on my WhatsApp to check if there were any messages on the BTW chat group. But nothing.

"Strange," I muttered to myself as I sat on my bed. I decided to leave a message, but that wasn't going to be enough.

I decided to make a call to one of the BlackPink members. Jennie was the first member on my contact list so I called her.

I put my phone to my ear. Her phone rang but she wasn't picking up. I waited until the voicemail came up and I cut the call right away. Maybe she was still asleep or she wasn't so close to the phone. I called again and still her phone went straight to voicemail.

I called Jisoo next, and just like Jennie's phone, it went straight to voicemail. Something didn't feel right. Why were they both not answering their phones?

I went on ahead to call Seunghoon and this time, I prayed that his phone wasn't going to act like the others. Upon the third ring, he answered.

"Hello?" Seunghoon answered. He sounded sleepy.

"Seunghoon? Hey, are you still asleep?" I asked.

"Sam?" he sounded surprised and more awake. "Oh, I didn't notice it was you."

"Are you guys coming to meet us here at the hotel? We have a song to work on, remember?"

"Oh, oh, ya, we do..., ummm, eish.....," I heard him mutter something in Korean. "You said we can meet either today or tomorrow, right?"

"Umm...," I raised an eyebrow. Something was definitely not right at the moment. "Yes, I did. That's why I called to see if you guys are up it."

"Oh, umm, let me ask if these guys are up for it." I heard movement, like someone was pushing away the sheets to try and get out of bed. "I'll call you right back."

"Ya, sure."

Seunghoon cut the call and I couldn't help but wonder. Maybe the others weren't up for meeting today. It was for the best to have it cancelled.

The door to the room flew open and Zoey came in.

"Anything?" Zoey asked.

"Couldn't reach Jennie or Jisoo," I answered. "But I did reach Seunghoon and he will get back to me as soon as he talks to the others."

"Okay, well, we can wait."

"Maybe we should cancel and meet tomorrow. Seunghoon was still asleep when I called."

"We could, but Yang Hyun-suk wants to hear the song tomorrow."

"We can tell Collins to tell him that he will have to wait a little longer."

"Geez, this is Yang Hyun-suk we're talking about. He wouldn't like taking orders from a missy like you."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's just a suggestion, not an order."

"Ooh, you know what I mean," she said irritatingly.

"We can't work on the song without them."

"True, but you started to work on the song way before we all met yesterday. You're a good songwriter after all."

"I hope we won't have to write the songs of the entire album ourselves. We will need to bring out some songwriters. We don't really have much time."

"Huh, funny. Collins was talking about it with Lee just now. You two seem to think alike."

"Yay, we will be working on one song," I said with less enthusiasm.

"Then get your guitar and notebook."

"May you help me with my guitar?" I asked. "It's in the closet."

"Really? Why do I get to carry the heavy stuff for you?"

"I never let you carry any of my heavy stuff. And besides, the guitar isn't so heavy."

"Whatever," Zoey rolled her eyes at me as she went to the closet to get it. I stretched out over my bed to get my notebook in one of the drawers on the other side of the bed.

Zoey and I soon left the room, Zoey with my guitar and me, with my phone and notebook. I expected Seunghoon to have called back by now but he hadn't. Strange.

"Aah, it's good to see that you are much more serious than I thought about the song," said Collins as we entered the lounge.

"Of course we are," said Zoey as she smiled at Collins seated in the lounge. My brothers and Christine weren't by the dining table.

"And what about the others?" Lee asked. She was standing right in front of us with the tablet still in her hands. "Are they going to make it?"

"Am yet to receive a reply," I answered.

"I hope all goes to plan," said Collins as he stood up. "Yang Hyun-suk is really looking forward to hearing the song."

I gulped. Something told me it was best if the managers heard the song another day.

"I actually think we need a little more time," I said to Collins.

"Really?" he raised his eyebrow at me.

I felt Zoey look at me. She knew what I was doing. I had no other choice but to stall.

"Yes, really," I answered.

"Whatever reason you have, fine. But you will have to finish the song because tomorrow we will meet other songwriters and composers for the album. But we will still need that song from you."

I nodded my head. "It will be a great song, trust me."

Collins smiled at Zoey and I, then left the lounge heading for the elevator. It looked like he was going out as always.

"Well, that went well," said Zoey after we were sure that Collins had gone.

"What went well?" Lee asked.

"Nothing, nothing," said Zoey as she went ahead to put the guitar on the nearest couch and smiled at Lee.

I knew Lee was going to stare at me to get an answer, so, I avoided her gaze by looking at my phone. Still nothing from Seunghoon. I debated on whether to give him another call.

I heard one of the doors open and shut in the hall followed by Christine's voice singing to a song by Maroon 5: "She will be loved" until she entered the lounge.

"Any news from the others yet?" she asked as she stood beside me.

I shook my head. "I can't reach BlackPink and Seunghoon said he would inform me soon if he and the rest are going to make it."

"Bummer," she said as she went over to sit on the couch. Zoey soon joined her.

"Now I see why you don't want the managers hearing the song tomorrow," said Lee. "You're not sure if these guys are going to show."

"I thought we agreed that we were all going to rest and then meet up," said Christine.

"The sad part was I suggested we meet either today or tomorrow," I said.

"I think I was the one who suggested that," said Lee as she winced.

"Judging by Sam's phone that should have rang minutes ago, we're likely to meet tomorrow," said Zoey.

She was right. I looked at my phone and I felt like I should have just left it behind in my room. Seunghoon might call to tell me that they weren't going to make it. Jisoo or Jennie would find my missed calls and call me back to say the same thing.

"Ya, you're right," I said as I slumped my shoulders and lowered my phone. I sighed.

"If these guys are taking a day off, don't you think we should as well?" Zoey asked.

"No!" Christine, Lee and I said at the same time.

Zoey's face was one filled with disappointment. "I really wanted to go shopping."

"If they won't come, we will work on the song ourselves," I said. "I'll just text them-"

The phone beeps in my hand. I looked at it and I found a message from Seunghoon. I read the message saying that they won't be able to make it. I texted back and told him we would meet tomorrow.

After pressing the send button, Lee asked, "was that Seunghoon?"

"Yep, and he said they aren't going to make it."

"Well, you saw this coming," said Zoey.

"And you did well to stall the managers," said Lee. "That will give you some breathing space."

"We better start working on the song," I said as I went over to the couch where my guitar lay and lifted it to create space to sit. "Where are Mike and Daniel?"

"I can go call them, they are in their room," said Lee.

She didn't even have to leave the lounge as Mike and Daniel soon appeared.

"We're working on the song already?" Daniel asked. "Aren't we waiting for the others?"

"They won't make it today," said Zoey as I sat down.

"Mmm..., how come?" Mike asked, sounding puzzled.

"They wouldn't say, just that they can't make it, at least that's what Seunghoon told me on behalf of WINNER," I said. "I'm yet to hear from BlackPink."

"Bummer," said Daniel as he came to sit right beside me.

"Not to worry, we can still make progress without them. Shall we begin?"

Mike sat opposite Daniel and I. We first did a recap of the song and continued working on the first verse since that was where we left off. Without the others it was kind of difficult since Mino and Seungyoon came up with great lyrics for the first verse. We had to go with the flow though and it didn't seem so bad.

We were still on the first verse, checking out sentences and debating whether one word sounded better than the other when my phone rang. It laid on the armrest of the couch. I checked who was calling and rolled my eyes.

"Who's calling, Sam?" Daniel asked.

"I'll tell you," said Zoey, "it's G-Dragon. If it's not, then it's probably someone who's just as annoying as he is."

"It's him, alright," I said as I took the phone and picked up the call. "Hey, GD."

"Hi, I'm in the elevator right now coming to your floor. I'll be there in like 30 seconds."

"Wait, you're....," the line went dead. I stared at the phone.

"What is it?" Christine asked.

We heard the sound of the elevator doors on our floor announcing the arrival of our visitor.

"He's here," I said.

Lee who sat at the dining table, working, asked, "how come we were never informed at the reception of his arrival?"

"It's because I told them not to," came G-Dragon as he appeared in the lounge.

We turned to look at him. Somehow, I wasn't surprised that he was here.

"Hello, everyone," he greeted as he came to where the five of us, sat.

Four of us, including Lee, replied to his greeting except Zoey who said, "how come you're here?"

"What's wrong with me being here?" he asked as he shrugged his shoulders.

"For someone who went partying last night, you seem pretty sober."

"Oh.., how did the party go anyway?" Christine asked.

"It was great," he said with a happy grin.

"Zoey has a point, though," said Mike. "For someone who had a great time at the party, you seem pretty sober and...," he snapped his fingers as he tried to think of a word.

"Normal?" Daniel suggested. Though he was only joking.

"Wait, you think I'm not normal?" G-Dragon asked. He almost looked offended.

"Nah, that's not the word, Daniel," said Mike. "It doesn't matter anyway."

I looked over at Mike and he had a small smirk on his face that was almost unnoticeable to everyone else. I found Daniel also staring at his brother and then he looked at me. The two of us knew he meant what Daniel said.

"We had a blast yesterday," said G-Dragon as he went over to join Mike on the couch. "I thought you checked the photos on Instagram."

"Did you just say 'we?'" I asked as I raised my eyebrow at him.

"What?" he asked as if he hadn't heard my question. I felt like he did.

"You said 'we.' Who else were you with?"

"Oh.., just friends, very close..., very good friends," he answered as he nodded his head.

"Okay," I said as I slowly nodded back. "I'm glad you had fun."

"You guys should have come. It was amazing."

"Too late for that now, isn't it?" Christine asked.

"Yep, too late. But you could still see the pics of how much fun we had."

"I bet there was plenty of booze too," said Zoey.

"Plenty," said G-Dragon with a smile.

I couldn't help but feel something strange with what G-Dragon said a few sentences ago. Maybe I was just imagining things. Any who....

"We can check the pics later," I said. "We have a song to write."

"The others aren't here yet?" G-Dragon asked. "How can you work on the song without them?"

"Seunghoon called to tell me they weren't going to make it. I haven't heard anything from BlackPink but I doubt they will come, so I called off the meeting and we are working on it instead."

"Oh. I think that's fair considering that they must be tired from the party."

I looked at G-Dragon, and so did the rest of the Toxins.

"They were with you at the party?" Daniel asked.

"Huh....?" G-Dragon now looked like the confused one. "I thought you knew."

"How would we know when we were resting yesterday and we were completely off social media?" Christine asked.

G-Dragon shrugged his shoulders. He left our floor early yesterday, so he had no idea that we all agreed to rest and continue working on the song later. Can't blame him for that.

"You dragged them to the party, didn't you?" Zoey asked as she pointed a finger at him. "You're such a manipulator!"

"I didn't convince them, I swear," he said as he raised his hands in surrender. But then he looked at me and lowered them. "Okay..., maybe a little."

"I knew it!" Zoey said with a look on her face.

"But ninety percent of the whole convincing thing was on the other guy."

"The other guy?" Mike asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"Who's the other guy?" Christine asked.

I knew there was something fishy about G-Dragon's earlier statements. He didn't just go and party with "just" close friends.

"Tell us," Zoey demanded when G-Dragon didn't speak.

We looked at him as he also stared back at each one of us. The look in his eyes made me realise that he didn't want to talk for fear of what might happen next.

"Looks like you lost your tongue, GD," said Daniel. "Please tell us who you were with. I don't think it's that much of a big deal."

G-Dragon squeezed his eyes shut in fright. And just like that, we knew it was a big deal.

"Goodness, just tell us, GD," I said. "We have a song to work on and you're just wasting our time."

"It was a mistake coming here," said G-Dragon as he nervously stood up from the couch. "I better get going. Sorry for disturbing you."

All five of us stood up and surrounded him. It was five against one and he knew he couldn't stand a chance. We came closer, making it tight for him to leave.

"GD, sit down, please," I instructed him and he did.

"Now," said Zoey as she cracked her knuckles. "You're going to answer our questions. You don't want to receive these babies," she gestured to her fists, "on your face."

"Okay, okay," G-Dragon surrendered. "I'll tell you."

"First question," said Christine with her arms folded. "Who were you with downstairs when you left our floor yesterday?"

G-Dragon gulped as he looked at us. "You won't like the answer I am about to give you. You will kill me before I even leave this place."

"We will make sure to bury you in a lovely place, promise," said Mike. "Now, spill."

G-Dragon sat upright and cleared his throat. "When I came out of the elevator, I saw..., I saw this guy. He recognised me immediately and said he was a big fan..., and so....., we talked for a while. We got along well...., and then that's when the others came..."

"GD, we don't want to hear how you all met," I said, "we want a name. Who is the guy?"

"It's..., it's..., Johnny," said G-Dragon. He immediately looked down at the floor.

"Johnny Jerkins!" the five of us said at the same time.

"Yes," G-Dragon as he slowly nodded his head, still facing downwards.

Zoey fell onto the couch next to G-Dragon like she was about to pass out, her hand on her forehead.

"I can't believe it" she said.

"That explains everything," I said, as I looked at a certain part of the wall above the couch, my mind far off.

"No wonder they couldn't make it," said Daniel.

"They didn't just go to the party, they were hanging out with Johnny," said Mike.

"Ya...., you won't like what I am about to show you," said Lee behind us.

We all turned to look at Lee as she approached with a tablet in her hands. She went to sit on the couch I had been sitting on with Daniel. I went to sit next to her, Christine on her other side. Mike and Daniel went over to stand at the back of the couch so as to see more clearly on the tablet.

She was on Instagram and she had gone on one of G-Dragon's fan pages. One of the first photos we saw of last night was a picture of him and Johnny staring at the camera and smiling. They had hands over each other's shoulders like they were best buddies.

It was definitely Johnny Jerkins alright. His white blonde hair cropped to the sides and a strand of it falling above his right blue eye. He was almost G-Dragon's height and he had on a white shirt and brown khaki shorts. I noticed their surrounding and I couldn't help but ask:

"You guys had a party on a boat?" I looked at G-Dragon.

"What! A cruise party!" Zoey yelled as she sat up quickly. She looked like she had woken from her slumber as she went to stand alongside my two brothers.

Lee continued to scroll down the page and more pictures came up. This time, there were some of BlackPink and WINNER having a good time with Johnny and G-Dragon. There were other pictures with fans who wanted to take pics with the K-Pop superstars.

"You guys had such a good time," said Zoey. "I wish I came."

"You see, you guys should have tagged along," said G-Dragon.

"And hang out with Johnny? Heck no!" Zoey detested.

"He seems pretty cool."

"That's because you only just met him," said Daniel.

"You won't be hanging out with him more often, will you?" Christine asked.

"Nah," G-Dragon denied. "I guess all that was just a one time thing."

"That's what they all say," said Zoey. I imagined her rolling her eyes when she said that.

"And let's not forget, he's in this hotel," I said. "Avoiding him will be tricky."

"Don't you think maybe you guys are taking this thing a little too far?" G-Dragon asked.

"What thing?" Christine asked. Her eyes were still fixed on the tablet as Lee continued to scroll.

"This 'Johnny' thing?"

I looked up from the tablet at G-Dragon and I knew I wasn't the only one.

"Why would we?" I asked.

"You talk about him as if he's your worst enemy."

"Look, we don't hate people, well, maybe some," said Mike. "It's just that some people aren't worth hanging out with."

"Because of his actions back at school? Please, that was a long time ago."

"You're right," said Zoey. "It was a long time ago, but we would rather keep our distance. Some people are just toxic, you know?"

"How ironic," said G-Dragon as he stood up from the couch.

"Leaving already?" Lee asked.

"Ya, I really should. Just came to check up on the progress with the song."

G-Dragon didn't seem like himself. I looked at him and this time I didn't give him a criticising look like I always do. I could tell he was upset if not sad.

"I'll escort you to the elevator," I said as I stood up from the couch.

"Ok," he said and he turned to address the others, "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, GD," the rest replied at the same time. Their tone sounded low almost as if they didn't want to upset him any further.

G-Dragon made his way out of the lounge and I was right behind him.

"Well, you seem upset," I said to him when we were in the hall.

"No, I'm not," he said as he shrugged his shoulders.

I held his shoulder and he stopped walking, his back still facing me.

"I know when you're upset," I said as I dropped my hand. "I think the others know too."

He turned around to look at me. "I don't get you guys at all," he said.

"What do you mean?" I folded my arms.

"I mean, you guys are the nicest and coolest people I have ever met and I never thought you would be so spiteful about someone. You weren't all like this when you were dealing with Jehan...., well, maybe Zoey, but even she wasn't so extreme."

"We aren't perfect, you know? We have our emotions too, whether good or bad."

"But why hate on Johnny so much?"

I shook my head. "We don't hate him. We do hate what he did to us in the past, but we don't actually hate him."

"Really?"

"If we really did, we would have called him worse names than 'jerk' now, wouldn't we?"

G-Dragon bit his lip and he didn't have to admit I was right. "Then why can't you come to peace with him?" he asked. "You don't even want to cross paths with him, like ever."

I sighed as I dropped my arms. "Some people aren't worth mingling around with, Jiyong."

"Is there something you aren't telling me?" He raised his eyebrow at me and took a step closer.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Kind of," I answered. "You're yet to know everything in due time."

G-Dragon slowly nodded his head. I could tell that he understood and is willing to wait. But for how long is the million dollar question.

"Okay, I'll see you around, then," said G-Dragon as he managed to smile.

"Ya, you too," I answered as I smiled back.

He turned and walked to the elevator. I stood there and watched him leave.

"Sam, get in here quick!" Zoey called out to me. "You have to see this!"

I quickly went back into the lounge and took my seat next to Lee.

"This better be worth the call," I said as I looked at Lee's tablet.

"There was a dance video of Lisa and some girl," said Lee as she played the video for me.

I watched Lisa and the young lady danced to a popular K-Pop song. There were people around that watched and cheered.

"Well, that's cool," I said after the clip ended.

"These guys had a really good time," said Mike.

"Ya, but with someone you consider your enemy," said Lee.

"Whatever," said Christine. "We're way past that. We just don't want any drama with him."

"That will be impossible since he got to hang out with G-Dragon, BlackPink and WINNER who happen to be your friends."

"Ya, good point," said Daniel. "What do you think we should do?"

"Do we really have to do anything?" Christine asked.

"Don't tell me you want to think of something like a battle strategy?" Lee asked.

"Why should we?" I asked. "We have a song to work on, remember? Johnny should be the least of our problems."

"Something tells me we are going to meet him sooner than we anticipated," said Zoey.

"It seems so."

For a moment, we didn't say a thing as Lee stood up from the couch, taking the tablet with her back to the dining table. The others who stood went to take their seats. For a moment, some of us sat, slumped on the couch.

"Aren't you guys going to continue working on the song?" Lee asked at the dining area. We had been quiet for what felt like forever.

I tapped my fingers onto my lap and asked, "who wants doughnuts?"

"Me," said Zoey and Christine at the same time.

"I should do with a little sugar," said Mike.

"Same here," said Daniel.

The five of us all looked at each other. It was surprising we wanted something sweet to boost our spirits. We needed some fresh air too. We all turned to look at Lee who sighed. She needed a doughnut too.

"Fine, I'll get the car," she said as she stood up.


	33. Chapter 32: Bang Yong-guk's Doppelganger

We left the hotel in a black SUV and drove around town to get doughnuts. I could only think of one place to get them: the store where Zoey, Christine and I met B.A.P. 

"Wait, you're taking us to that store?" Daniel asked after I suggested we go there. 

"I know there are many other doughnut places," I said as I sat in the front passenger seat, staring ahead, "but that's the only place I could think of." 

"And besides, the doughnuts there are just delicious," said Zoey. I saw her through the rearview mirror lick her lips. 

"I wish we were there when you met B.A.P," said Mike. 

"Ya, you guys had your boys night out," said Christine. "Maybe these coming days, you'll get to meet them." 

"I still don't get why you all want doughnuts," said Lee who sat with Zoey and Christine behind me. 

"Because we want something sweet to lift our spirits," said Zoey, as she dramatically lifted her hands. 

"You should have just ordered candy instead." 

"You know all this is just an excuse to get out of the hotel," I said as I smiled to myself. 

"I thought as much." 

"We should hang around for a bit before going back," said Mike. 

"You sound just like Zoey," said Christine. 

"Well, I'm glad someone gets me on this one," said Zoey as I saw her smile back at Mike. 

"Come on, guys," said Lee. "We can't stay out for too long. You've a song to work on." 

"We know, Lee," said Daniel. "But it won't hurt just to have a little fun." 

"That's why you're only going out to get doughnuts and that's it. Collins will be mad if he knows that you have been out doing nothing but having fun." 

"Sadly, that's what we all plan on doing," said Zoey. 

"Sam, please, tell your crew that we can't stay out for more than an hour," said Lee as she looked at me. 

As much as I didn't want to admit it, Lee was right. We had work to do. And now that most of the BTW members weren't going to show up, we had to work on the song ourselves. I understand the other's will to have a fun free time, but that would have to wait. 

"We have to listen to Lee, guys," I said. "We get the doughnuts and leave." 

"You're so not fun," said Zoey. 

"Tell that to our managers," I turned to give Zoey a smirk. 

"Ooh, here we are," said Christine, looking out of the window. 

We were here, alright. And the little blue and pink store with a white coloured roof, shone brightly like a house you can only find in candy land. There was a free parking space right in front of the store and the driver took it. The five of us Toxins and Lee soon stepped out of the car. 

The six of us all headed for the door. Mike was there first, so he stood there to keep it open while the rest of us went inside. 

There weren't many sitting booths inside and the place was almost empty except for a middle aged Korean couple who sat in the booth close to the counter. They didn't seem to notice us as they were engaged in some conversation only meant for the two of them. I noticed them smiling at each other as they had a plate of doughnuts in between them with cups of coffee. They looked so adorable that I also couldn't help but smile. 

"Awww!" Zoey said admirably but again, almost too loud that I quickly had to hit her on the arm. 

"Ouch," she looked at me angrily. 

"Don't make it so obvious that you're looking at them," I whispered. "It almost feels like you're invading their privacy." 

"Please, I don't think they would mind," said Zoey as she went to one of the booth on the other side of the room. I quickly joined her, rolling my eyes. 

"I'll go make the order," Christine offered and went to the counter. Lee joined her. 

Mike and Daniel came to sit with us in the booth. Daniel sat next to Zoey and Mike next to me. 

"So when we get back to the hotel," said Zoey, "won't we be bored to death?" 

"Depends," I said. "To be honest, I feel like I can't continue working on the song." 

"Well, we just have to," said Daniel. "Disappointing as it is that the others couldn't make it - for we know what reasons - we still have to do our best." 

"Let's just hope the doughnuts could be the inspiration Sam needs," said Mike as he smiled at me, mockingly. 

"I just can't stop looking at that couple over there. They are so adorable," said Zoey with her elbow on the table and her fist under her chin as she stared at the couple with a smile. 

I snapped my fingers in front of her. "If they see you, they will get scared and think you're a freak," I said. 

"Well, isn't she?" Mike asked. 

Zoey slowly turned her head towards Mike and she quickly went from all smiles to killer mode. 

"I should have your head on a pike," she said, through clenched teeth. 

Mike leaned back in his seat and folded his arms. "I would like to see you try. But you do know I would hunt you in your dreams, right?" 

Zoey scoffed as she dropped her arm onto the table. "It seems I will never ever get rid of you, huh?" 

Mike surprisingly gave her a bright smile, but we all knew it wasn't genuine. "I'm glad you know," he said. 

Lee and Christine came back to the booth. Christine joined Mike and me. 

"Where are the doughnuts?" I asked. 

"Well, I know how someone likes chocolate dip doughnuts," said Lee, "so we will have to wait a little longer to have our assorted set complete." 

Mike, Daniel and I turned to look at Zoey. She shrugged her shoulders as she knew that she was the one who liked chocolate dip the most. 

"I don't think it will take long," said Lee as she sat joining Zoey and Daniel. 

I had a clear view of the counter and I saw the same man we met last time in a white apron, packing the doughnuts in pink and blue paper boxes. There was movement in the kitchen behind the counter. Looks like we weren't going to wait long for those chocolate dip doughnuts after all. 

The man at the counter looked towards our booth and waved at me with a smile. I smiled and waved back. He still recognised me. 

"Hey, Lee," said Zoey, "don't you think that couple over there is just super adorable?" 

Lee turned to look at the booth on the other side. "I believe so," she replied as she turned back to face Zoey. "Why do you ask?" 

"Oh.., no reason," said Zoey. "I just think they are." 

"Zoey's lovesick," said Mike. 

"What the-can you just sssh!" Zoey said as she looked at Mike with a vengeance. 

"Ya, she must miss Mino so much," Christine said, joining in on the tease. 

"What are you talking about?!" 

"Oh, please, Zoey," said Daniel as he gave her a look. "We all know you and Mino kind of have a....," he lifted his index and middle fingers of both his hands and flexed them to show him making quotation marks. "...thing going on." 

"That's not true," she said as she looked out the window, obviously trying to hide her face. 

"Maybe that's why she's been admiring that couple over there," I said, joining in on the fun. "You must miss Mino that much, huh?" 

"Not you too, Sam," said Zoey as she looked at me and shook her head. 

I shrugged my shoulders as I smiled at her. Mike started it and it wouldn't hurt to tease her a little. 

"Maybe we should give him a call," said Lee as she pulled out her phone. "See if he misses her too." 

"You can't be serious," said Zoey as she turned to look at Lee with her eyes bulging out of her sockets. 

"Do it," Mike insisted. 

"Yes, call him," Daniel joined. 

"Instead of calling, we should be checking on those doughnuts," said Zoey. 

Lee turned back to look at the counter. The owner of the store had probably gone to the kitchen. She turned back to look at Zoey with a mocking smile. 

"He isn't there," she said and she went back to tapping on her phone. "We better make that call before he comes back." 

"This is getting ridiculous," said Zoey. "I don't miss Mino. Why can't you just drop it?" 

"We know how close you two are," said Daniel. "And now that he didn't come today, you must have seen the both of you in that couple over there." 

"And here I thought you were more sensible than your brother," Zoey looked at Daniel with a dangerous glow in her eyes. I thought she would pounce on him like a wild cat. 

"I am. I'm just saying the truth." 

"Okay....," said Lee as her thumb made scrolling movements on her phone, muttering, "Mino, Mino, where is he? I've so many people here whose names start with M." 

"Lee, put that phone down, please," Zoey begged. This time she really meant it. 

"Ah! Here it is," Lee had so much glee in her eyes like some child who had just spotted candy under their pillow. 

"Lee, come on." Zoey looked like she was about to lose her mind. "Why are you guys bothering me about this? If there's anyone you should be bothering, it's Christine. She likes Jinwoo." 

"Wait, what?" Christine chuckled as she almost couldn't believe what Zoey was saying. "That's ridiculous." 

"Oh, don't deny it. I see the way you look at him when he isn't looking." 

"I wish I had popcorn. This just got interesting," said Daniel. 

"Tell me about it," said Mike. 

"Ah, his phone is ringing," said Lee with her phone to her ear. 

Zoey turned back to Lee. "What!" This time, her voice was loud. 

"Your order is ready," called the man at the counter. 

"Saved by the doughnuts," said Lee as she stood up and put her phone away in her white leather coat. She went to get the doughnuts and Christine followed to help her out. 

"This isn't over, you know?" Mike said as he smirked at Zoey. 

"Oh, shut up," she snapped at him. "You guys weren't even interested with what I had to say about Christine and Jinwoo." 

"That's because it's not true," said Christine as she stood near the table with two paperboxes in her hands. 

"Oh, really?" Mike asked as he gave Christine a funny smile. 

"Come on, Toxins," Lee announced as she was almost at the door. "Let's go before some of you end up making a scene." 

"She's talking about you," said Mike as he gave Zoey a smirk and stood up from his seat. 

"Why, I'm gonna-" Zoey stood up, ready to grab Mike, but Daniel stood too and held her shoulder to stop her. 

"Look over there, Zoey," I heard him whisper to her, gesturing with his head to the couple on the other side. "You don't want them thinking you're psycho, do you?" 

Just like Zoey, I also turned towards the couple and I noticed them staring a little at our table, but trying their best not to. Daniel was right. It wasn't good for Zoey to go psycho right now. She had plenty of time to do that when we got back to the hotel. 

"Fine," she said as she looked at the table's surface, looking humiliated. But when she looked back at Mike, she gave him the "this-isn't-over" look. Mike happily replied with a smile. 

"Come on, let's go," said Lee as she stood by the door, waiting with her free hand holding the door handle. "Sorry for this," she said to the man at the counter. 

"Oh, it's no problem at all," he replied with a smile. 

Lee smiled and walked out. Christine did so seconds later. I stood up and joined Mike, Daniel and Zoey. The other three went out of the door before I did because I soon got distracted by the beeping of my phone in my pocket. 

I stopped walking and took my phone out. I had a message from Jennie, apologising for not making it and I replied to her message. The door to the store flew open and someone walked in. I had just pressed the send button when all of the sudden, my phone dropped to the floor. 

"Darn it," I said as I bent down to pick it up. "I really have butter fingers sometimes." 

While I was still bent over, the person who had just come in went round me, heading for the counter. I picked up the phone, straightened up and checked to see if there was any crack on the screen. Luckily, there was none. 

I placed the phone back in my pocket and I looked behind me towards the couple, still at their table. The person who had walked past me was taking his order by the counter. I continued to look at his back. He had a black denim jacket on with black jeans and wore black and white canvas shoes. Looking at his stature and the shape of his head, I couldn't help but feel like I knew him. 

At the moment, I was transfixed as the shop owner started packing doughnuts in a small paper box. The customer started to tap his fingers on the counter as he waited. He turned his head to the side, but it wasn't enough for me to fully see his face. If only he could turn his head a little more... 

My phone beeped again. I had another message? Who could it be? I took my phone out and this time it was a message from Daesung. Well, this was a surprise. 

I looked back at the man on the counter and figured I wouldn't get to see who it is. I turned to the door and walked out. 

"What took you so long?" Lee asked when I finally got in the car. Zoey was already eating a doughnut and just finished up the last bit of it. 

"I had to reply to a message," I answered. I put my seatbelt on. "We can start off now," I said to the driver. 

Just when the driver started the car engine, the door to the doughnut shop flew open. My eyes at first were on the phone wanting to read Daesung's message, then I looked up at the door to the store. The person who walked out was Bang Yong-guk. 

"Isn't that Bang Yong-guk?" I asked as he turned to walk down the street. 

For a moment, everyone was silent as we watched him go. The driver didn't put the car in reverse as if he knew we might not want to leave at the moment. 

"It is him," said Zoey. 

"I want to go and say hi," said Daniel as he hurriedly tried to get out of the SUV. 

"What the-?" Lee looked over at Daniel as he drew the car door open, jumped over Lee's seat and went out hurriedly. 

"Daniel, get back here, we have to get back to the hotel!" Lee called out to him, but it was already too late. 

"I'm going too," said Mike and he also made his way out. 

"Me too," said Zoey, "excuse me, Lee." 

Zoey went past Lee and Christine also followed suit. I looked at Lee and she had a surprised look on her face. She turned to look at me. 

"Should I follow them?" I asked. 

"I know you want to go too," said Lee. "Just say your hi and goodbyes and get back here." 

"Sure," I said as I quickly unbuckled the seat belt, opened the door and followed the others. 

"Hey, wait up," I called out to Christine and Zoey. They stood for a minute and I caught up with them. 

"This is ridiculous," I said as we tried to catch up with Mike by walking as fast as we can. Daniel had gone further ahead and it looked like he was catching up to Yong-guk. 

"Because we all just want to greet Yong-guk when we could have done that at a later time?" Christine asked. 

"Ya, I mean, we do have a song to work on, so Lee really wants us to get this over with quickly." 

"To be honest, I don't want to go back to the hotel," said Zoey as we passed a little boutique. She briefly glanced at the display window. "Yong-guk couldn't have come at a more better time than this to let us have time away from the hotel." 

Mike was just a few feet in front of us when he looked behind him. "Ah, sis," he said as he looked back in front of him. "I see you joined us on our walking spree." 

"You know why," I answered, "Lee wants us to go back." 

"What? And you're our time keeper?" Mike chuckled. These are the times when I realise why Zoey always wants to hit him. 

I looked ahead and I saw Daniel and Yong-guk nearing a corner. We had gone too far from the doughnut shop. Daniel would have stopped him judging by the way he was so close to him. Why didn't he? 

The two were turning round the corner. At that point, I saw Daniel stretch out his hand to tap Yong-guk on the shoulder. I guess he had finally caught his attention. The four of us had to hurry. 

"Looks like Daniel finally caught up to him," said Christine. 

We soon turned round the corner and we saw Daniel and Yong-guk standing in front of a post office, looking at each other. 

"Yong-guk, hi!" Zoey greeted him as she went to join them. 

Daniel and Yong-guk both looked at her, surprised by her sudden appearance. 

"How are you?" Zoey asked when she got close. "Sam noticed you at the doughnut shop so we all wanted to come and say hi." 

"Uhhh....," Yong-guk looked at Zoey like he didn't know what to say. 

"Ummm...., Zoey-" Daniel said to her. I noticed his expression. He looked disappointed-kind of embarrassed, to be exact. 

"It's good you caught up with him, Daniel," said Zoey, not giving Daniel a chance to talk. "So what have you been up to, Yong-guk?" 

Something told me I didn't want to take part in this conversation. Daniel's face sent mixed signals. Not only did I notice, Mike and Christine did as well. We kept our distance, waiting to see what we were actually missing here. 

"Zoey, right?" Yong-guk asked as he nervously looked at Zoey. 

"Huh?" Zoey looked perplexed. 

The three of us that kept our distance were shocked. This is a surprise. He asked for her name as if he had never met her before or as if he wasn't sure. What's going on? 

"Zoey, listen to me-" Daniel said, but Zoey cut him off. 

"Have you forgotten me so easily, Yong-guk?" Zoey asked, not quiet believing what was happening. 

"It's not that Zoey," said Yong-guk. "It's just that I'm not who you think I am." 

"What!" Zoey looked like her head was about to explode. "What are you saying!" 

"What does he mean?" Mike whispered to me. 

I didn't answer right away as I continued to look at Yong-guk in front of me. I felt like I was missing something, but what? Zoey on the other hand continued saying random things that she disturbed my thoughts. 

"Zoey, we aren't going to figure out anything if you keep reacting like this," I said. 

"Oh, Sam, what do you want me to say?" Zoey asked as she looked at me. "I can't believe that Yong-guk has forgotten me so soon." 

"Would you listen to me for once, you drama queen!" Daniel said out loud. He sounded irritated and whatever he wanted to say, he wanted to say it quick. We all know how restless Zoey could get sometimes that it's difficult to calm her down. 

Zoey grew silent as she looked at Daniel with a scared look on her face. Daniel might be sweet and innocent, but when you push his buttons too far, he would explode in a way you wouldn't think possible. 

"This isn't Bang Yong-guk," Daniel continued, this time, his tone was firm but gentle. "It's actually his twin brother, Bang Yong-nam." 

"Huh?" Christine and I muttered as we looked at Yong-guk's twin. So that was what I was missing. 

"Twin?" Zoey couldn't believe it either. "I'm really going to faint." 

"Wow, you two look so much alike," said Mike. 

Yong-nam smiled at us and said, "I get that comment a lot. Don't worry, you aren't the first." 

"Phew! Thank goodness," said Zoey, looking relieved and scratching the back of her head. "I'm sorry if I took it too far there." 

"She's one who doesn't take things little by little," said Daniel as he looked at Yong-nam. Zoey threw him a look. 

"Oh, it's cool," said Yong-nam. "Like I said, I get into these incidents all the time." 

"It's really nice meeting you," I said. "We thought you were your brother and we wanted to say hi." 

"Oh, you were the one at the doughnut shop picking up your phone on the floor, weren't you?" he asked as he looked at me. 

"Yes, I was. When I saw you at the counter, I felt like I knew you. Turns out I was half right." 

He chuckled and I couldn't help but feel like I was actually looking at Bang Yong-guk when it's actually his twin brother. It's going to take time for me to get used to this. 

"It's really nice meeting you all," he said, "though it's under weird circumstances." 

"Ya, super weird," said Daniel as he gave Yong-nam a huge grin. 

"Well, we better be going back," I said. "The pleasure is ours, Yong-nam. Tell your brother that we, Toxins said hi." 

"Wait, he's right nearby," Yong-nam said quickly. "I went out to get doughnuts for him and his friends." 

"He's around?" Zoey asked. 

"Ya, you can come along with me. That's if you aren't so busy." 

I felt all eyes fall on me, including Bang Yong-nam's. Goodness, I never really liked it when I was the one who had to call the shots. 

"We'll have to ask Lee first," I said as I pulled out my phone. "She wants us to go back to the hotel because we have stuff to do." 

"If you're busy, then I shouldn't bother you," said Yong-nam as he smiled at me. "I'll just pass on your greetings to him and B.A.P." 

"The whole group is together?" Daniel asked. Yong-nam nodded. 

"Bummer," said Mike. "I was really looking forward to meeting them since we didn't get to last time." 

"Sam, call Lee," said Zoey. 

"Yes, Sam, please do," said Christine. 

"Alright, don't rush me," I said as I tapped away on my phone. 

But just before I could even call, I saw the black SUV slowly come up right behind me, making a turn down the street and finally parking across. The other Toxins followed my eyes and they knew right away it was Lee. 

"No need of calling her now," I said. I looked back at my phone, remembering that I had an unread message from Daesung. 

I looked across the street and I saw Lee quickly cross the road. I went back to looking at my phone and read the message quickly. 

"There you are, you troublemakers," said Lee when she reached us. 

"Uh-oh," said Mike. 

Uh-oh, indeed. When Lee calls us troublemakers, it was a sign that she was not happy. 

"What's going on here?" Lee asked as she put her hands on her hips. "You were supposed to be back at the doughnut shop." 

"Yes, we know," said Christine. "But there was a bit of a mix up." 

"What mix up?" 

Daniel told her what happened. Yong-nam greeted Lee like it was nothing. And just like us, Lee couldn't believe that Yong-nam was really Yong-guk's twin. 

"Wow, it's not everyday that you get to run into someone's twin," said Lee. 

"And a celebrity's for that matter," added Mike. 

"Lee, we wanted to ask a favour," Zoey said as she turned to look at Lee. 

Lee put up a face and was right to do so. She wasn't going to like what's next. 

"What favour?" she asked as if she knew what it was. 

"Well..," Zoey played around with her fingers, "Yong-nam here is bringing in doughnuts for his brother and the rest of B.A.P, so we were wondering if we could go over there and say hi." 

The nerve on Lee's head looked like it was about to pop. 

"You know you have work to do, right?" Lee asked. I could tell that she didn't want to raise her voice, especially not in front of Yong-nam. 

"Of course, we do. We just want to say hi, that's all." 

Lee would have let out a growl if she wanted to. But instead, she sighed and said, "fine." 

Zoey jumped for joy, not hiding her excitement. The rest of us just smiled. 

"But I'll be going with you," she added as she folded her arms. 

"It's cool," said Mike. "We need someone to keep track of us anyway." 

"Alright, then," said Yong-nam, he also couldn't hide the smile on his face. "The others would be really happy to see you." 

"I think we better get those extra doughnuts in the car so that there's plenty for everyone," said Lee. 

"That would be great." 

"I'll help you," I said. 

Lee and I crossed the road to where the car was packed while the others stayed where they were. I could already hear Zoey ask Yong-nam a dumb question: 

"So, how does it feel to have a twin?" 

"Geez, Zoey can drive you nuts," I said. 

"Tell me about it," said Lee as we reached the car. "It's a miracle that I still have my head intact for so long." 

As soon as we reached the car, I looked at my phone to reply to Daesung's message. Lee had already opened the car door to the passengers' side to remove the doughnut boxes as she told the driver about the latest developments. 

"Hey, are you going to help me out here?" Lee called out to me. 

"Oh, sorry," I said as I quickly put away my phone into my pocket to get one of the boxes Lee was holding in her hands. 

"What were you looking at on your phone?" Lee asked as she closed the car door with her free hand. 

"I had a message from Daesung. How free is our evening schedule?" 

"Well...," Lee looked left and right down the road before we crossed. "If you all manage to make progress with the song, you might just be free. Why do you ask?" 

"Oh, no, reason," I said as we crossed the road. "Daesung asked if we can all go watch an outdoor movie with him and Seungri." 

We were almost so close to the others when Lee looked at me strictly. "Not a word to anyone about this until we get back to the hotel, okay?" she ordered. 

"Ummm, ok," I answered. I would have opposed, but it didn't seem appropriate at the moment. 

"We're all here," Lee announced with a smile as though she didn't look strict earlier. "We can go now." 

"Alright, follow me," said Yong-nam as he led the way down the street with Zoey walking right beside him. 

"So where are they anyway?" Zoey asked. 

"They are at the agency," Yong-nam answered. 

"Oh, it's TS Entertainment, isn't it?" Lee asked. 

Yong-nam nodded. "Yep." 

"I can't believe we are going there," said Christine. "I am so excited." 

We all were. We, Toxins, at least got what we wanted: more free time away from the hotel. But now, Lee had laid an ultimatum for us that the others weren't even aware of yet. I hope we get done with this fast, because if the others get to know tonight's program, they would probably want to go. And that's if we make a tremendous amount of progress on the song.


End file.
